Aadhaar-Enabled Payment System: A New Threat to Secure Banking

Individuals who have their bank accounts linked with their Aadhaar number can use the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) for banking transactions. This system was introduced for the benefit of rural people because it was difficult for them to access the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) as they lacked facilities like Smartphones and active Internet connection. In the current digitalized world, the AePS plays an important role as it helps the citizens of India access various government benefits and facilitates banking transactions easily. But it also brings out the significant concern of misuse of Biometric data associated with Aadhaar. This Research paper is about the potential misuse of Aadhaar Biometrics to perform banking transactions. The paper aims to provide a comprehensive study of the issue and provide effective solutions for the same. The paper begins with understanding the benefits and importance of Aadhaar in today’s world. It then explains the data involved in Aadhaar, its vulnerability to misuse, and elaborates on the problems that arise due to breaches of Aadhaar Data and Biometrics. The research further studies Identity theft and Banking fraud associated with the misuse of Aadhaar Biometrics. The paper analyses and evaluates the existing legal frameworks that cater to the issue of Aadhaar data breaches. The paper provides effective solutions to mitigate the risks associated with the Aadhaar Data and Biometrics Breach and improve the AePS to provide a safe banking experience.