MasterCard has announced the development of a
bespoke payment solution for ‘Aadaar’ holders in India with
biometric authentication.

The ‘Aadaar’ government initiative provides
Indian residents with a 12-digit Unique Identification Number
(UID), which is captured on a Multipurpose National Identity Card
(MNIC). The project aims to collate residents’ basic demographic
and biometric information thus enabling them to gain acceptance to
India’s formal banking system.

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The payment solution is claimed to enable
participating banks to issue a 16-digit Primary Account Number
(PAN) to consumers enrolled in ‘Aadaar’. It claims to have
developed a direct interface with the identity project to perform
UID biometric authentication of such transactions.

“MasterCard is proud to collaborate with the
UIDAI in enabling financial inclusion for a significant portion of
the Indian population by facilitating payments,” said TV Seshadri,
general manager, South Asia, MasterCard Worldwide.

“MasterCard has been at the forefront of
driving secure payment transactions in India and strongly believes
the ‘Aadaar’ initiative will have a radical and transformative
impact on the payments industry in India.”

The network claims its solution is based on
the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) platform and
will encourage ‘Aadaar’ holders to switch from cash to e-payments.
It is designed to support prepaid, credit and debit products to
drive the UIDAI’s objective of financial inclusion in the
country.

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“It is indeed a decisive step for MasterCard
towards achieving our national goal of displacing cash with
electronic payments and opening up immense possibilities in India,”
said Seshadri.

MasterCard has teamed up with payment
solutions provider ElectraCard Services and IT solutions provider
Integra Micro Systems for front-end processing and terminal
deployment respectively.