Quick answer: The Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS), run by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), lets a shopkeeper or banking correspondent offer basic banking to customers of any bank using only the customer’s Aadhaar number and biometrics. The services include cash withdrawal, cash deposit, balance enquiry, mini statement and fund transfer, plus BHIM Aadhaar Pay for purchases. To offer it, you must be onboarded by a bank as an AePS touchpoint operator, with a certified biometric device and the bank’s app or micro-ATM.
What is AePS?
NPCI describes AePS as a bank-led model that allows online, interoperable financial inclusion transactions at AePS touchpoints of any bank, using Aadhaar authentication. It grew out of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) working groups on micro-ATM standards. Its stated goals include:
- letting a customer use Aadhaar as identity to reach their own Aadhaar-enabled bank account;
- routing these inter-bank transactions through a central switch;
- helping disburse government entitlements, such as MGNREGA wages and social security pensions.
For a customer, the only inputs are:
- Aadhaar number;
- bank name;
- transaction type;
- biometrics, given with consent;
- amount, for a financial transaction.
There is no card, PIN or phone involved. That is why AePS matters most in villages and for people who do not use cards or UPI.
Services you can offer as an AePS operator
NPCI lists these banking services on AePS:
- Cash withdrawal
- Cash deposit
- Fund transfer
- Balance enquiry
- Mini statement
- BHIM Aadhaar Pay (payments for goods and services)
- Yes/No authentication and dual authentication
Other services on the platform include eKYC, best finger detection, demographic authentication and an Aadhaar seeding status check.
APB and AePS: clearing up the original article
The original version of this article said UIDAI had built two platforms, the Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB) and AePS, and described both as ways for the government to transfer subsidies. That mixes them up:
- Aadhaar Payment Bridge System (APBS) is NPCI’s system for sending government benefits, such as LPG subsidy and scheme payments, into the bank account mapped to a person’s Aadhaar. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas says more than 85% of LPG subsidy payments went through the Aadhaar Payment Bridge.
- AePS is how a person uses that bank account afterwards: withdrawing the cash, checking the balance or paying a shop. It does this at a touchpoint such as yours.
Both run on NPCI’s infrastructure, and UIDAI provides the Aadhaar authentication.
How an AePS transaction works
- The customer tells you the service they want, such as a withdrawal or a balance enquiry.
- In your bank’s AePS app or micro-ATM, select the customer’s bank and the transaction type, then enter the customer’s Aadhaar number and the amount.
- Show the customer the amount, then ask them to place a finger on the scanner (or authenticate as the device asks).
- The request goes through your bank and NPCI to UIDAI for authentication, then to the customer’s bank.
- If approved, the customer’s account is debited (or credited, for a deposit). Settle cash with the customer and hand over the receipt or confirmation.
For a BHIM Aadhaar Pay purchase, the money goes straight from the customer’s account to your merchant account in real time, according to NPCI.
What you need to become an AePS touchpoint
- A bank partnership. AePS is offered through banks. You need to be appointed as a business correspondent (BC) or agent, or be onboarded as a BHIM Aadhaar Pay merchant, by a bank that is live on the service. NPCI publishes the list of banks live on BHIM Aadhaar Pay. The bank verifies you and onboards you.
- A device. An Android smartphone or tablet, a micro-ATM or a POS terminal, running your bank’s AePS or BHIM Aadhaar Pay app.
- A certified biometric scanner. NPCI requires a certified scanner. Use only a model your bank approves. For comparison, the government’s Jeevan Pramaan programme asks for STQC-certified devices with “RD Service” software installed.
- Internet connectivity and your own bank account for settlement. Both you and your customers need Aadhaar-linked accounts for BHIM Aadhaar Pay, according to NPCI.
The original article listed “smartphone, internet, app, fingerprint scanner and bank account” as the merchant’s requirements. That is broadly right, but the bank onboarding step is the one that matters. Do not buy devices or pay “registration fees” to anyone who is not your bank or its authorised partner.
Charges
NPCI says it does not charge merchants or customers for BHIM Aadhaar Pay transactions, but banks may levy their own charges. Commissions for business correspondents, and any fees for customers, are set by banks, so read your agreement carefully. An earlier version of this article said AePS has “no service tax or extra charges” and is “instant and affordable for both”. That depends on your bank’s terms.
Running a safe and honest AePS point
- Always show the customer the amount before they authenticate, and give a receipt.
- Never capture a customer’s fingerprint “to check a subsidy” and then process a withdrawal. Unauthorised transactions are fraud.
- Keep the device and biometric scanner in your custody, and never let others use your login.
- Explain the safety tools to customers. They can lock their biometrics in the Aadhaar app or on myAadhaar when not transacting, and check their Aadhaar authentication history.
- If authentication keeps failing for an older customer, suggest a biometric update at an Aadhaar centre, or face authentication if your bank supports it. NPCI has introduced face authentication for AePS.
For the customer’s side of paying a shop with Aadhaar, see our beginner’s guide to Aadhaar Pay. For how biometric, OTP and face authentication differ, read Aadhaar authentication explained. For how Aadhaar-based payments fit into the wider Digital India stack, see Aadhaar and Digital India.
Frequently asked questions
Can a customer of any bank use my AePS point?
Yes, if the customer’s bank is live on AePS. NPCI describes AePS as interoperable: any bank’s customer can transact at an AePS touchpoint of any bank.
Does the customer need a debit card or phone?
No. The customer needs only an Aadhaar number, an Aadhaar-linked bank account and their biometric.
How do I become an AePS agent?
Approach a bank that offers AePS through business correspondents, or a company the bank has authorised to manage its correspondent network. The bank verifies and onboards you, and provides or approves the app and device.
Is AePS the same as BHIM Aadhaar Pay?
BHIM Aadhaar Pay is one service within AePS. It is used for paying a merchant for goods or services, while AePS also covers cash withdrawal, deposit, balance enquiry, mini statement and fund transfer.
What should a customer do if money was debited but the transaction failed?
The customer should contact their own bank with the date, amount and transaction reference. You should also raise it with your acquiring bank.
Details in this guide were checked in October 2026 against NPCI’s AePS and BHIM Aadhaar pages and FAQs, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas PAHAL booklet, and UIDAI’s Aadhaar app information. Bank onboarding terms and charges vary, so confirm them with your bank before you start.
