National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announce a series of new digital payment initiatives at the Global Fintech Fest 2025 in Mumbai.
A key highlight is the introduction of biometric and wearable glass-based authentication for UPI transactions, aim at making digital payments faster and more convenient.
This new feature lets you verify UPI payments using their smartphone’s fingerprint or face unlock instead of entering a UPI PIN manually.
You can opt in and set this as their prefer authentication method for adds ease and security.
What is Biometric Authentication for UPI Payments?
Starting, UPI transactions using biometric authentication will be limited to Rs. 5,000, with the cap to be review later.
Using fingerprints or facial recognition available on a user’s smartphone is expect to make UPI payments easier and safer, especially if implement securely with proper safeguards.
The biometric authentication for UPI payments removes the need to enter or remember PINs, making payments more convenient for users, particularly senior citizens and those less familiar with digital systems.
As PINs can be forgotten or compromise, biometrics offer a stronger layer of security, as fingerprints and face scans are far more difficult to steal or duplicate.
This can also help reduce transaction failures cause by incorrect or forgotten PINs, ensuring a smoother payment experience.
The NPCI has publish guidelines on how to make UPI payments using biometric authentication on its website.
Safety in Biometric Authentication for UPI Payments
As it’s worth considering that there are some downsides to using fingerprint or face authentication for UPI payments.
And it offers speed and convenience, it also increases the risk of accidental transactions.
Unlike PIN entry, where you can still cancel or correct mistakes, biometric authentication processes the payment instantly once verified.
Same, you can reset your UPI PIN, but your biometrics are permanent.
For PIN-less biometric UPI payments, your consent and security checks are mandatory.
When a UPI app completes a new device login or binding, it must request fresh consent before allowing biometric transactions.
If a user changes or resets their UPI PIN, the issuing bank must disable biometric authentication for that account until the user reactivates it.
To maintain security, UPI apps must update their encryption keys at least once a year.
If a user doesn’t make any biometric transactions for 90 days, the feature becomes inactive and can be re-enabled only after user confirmation.
How to Use Biometric Authentication for UPI Payments?
Follow These Steps :
- Open your UPI app.
- Start a new payment.
- Scan the QR code of the receiver.
- Select the contact or merchant you want to pay.
- Enter the payment amount.
- Choose the bank account you want to use for the transaction.
- When ask to enter your UPI PIN, select the Use Biometric option on the screen.
- Authenticate using your fingerprint or face unlock by placing your finger on the sensor or looking at the camera.
- Wait for a confirmation message that the payment was process automatically without the need for a PIN.
