New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Thursday rolled out a new framework to onboard cooperative banks and enable them to deliver Aadhaar-based authentication services to mark the International Year of Cooperatives, the Ministry of Electronics and IT said on Thursday.

The development will give a strong push to last-mile banking and digital inclusion.

The framework has been developed in close consultation with the Ministry of Cooperation, the NABARD, the NPCI and cooperative banks. It will cover all 34 state cooperative banks (SCBs) and 352 district central cooperative banks (DCCBs) across the country, the Ministry said.

Adopting Aadhaar services is now easier and less expensive under the new system.

According to the ministry, the UIDAI will only register state cooperative banks as eKYC User Agencies (KUA) and Authentication User Agencies (AUA).

The DCCBs can seamlessly use the Aadhaar authentication application and IT infrastructure of their respective SCBs.

This eliminates the need for the DCCBs to develop or maintain separate IT systems, saving costs and ensuring smoother operations, the ministry stated.

Cooperative banks will be able to use Aadhaar-enabled services through this framework to offer quicker, safer, and easier customer onboarding.

Account opening will be simpler with services like biometric eKYC and face authentication, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas.

The ability to use Aadhaar to directly credit welfare and subsidy payments into their cooperative bank accounts will also benefit customers.

To further enhance digital transactions and promote financial inclusion in the cooperative sector, the framework also gives cooperative banks the authority to offer services like the Aadhaar Payment Bridge and the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS).

Cooperative banks will continue to be essential to India’s financial system thanks to this important step in extending Aadhaar’s influence and reach.

–IANS

aps/vd