New Delhi: For
millions of Indians used to withdrawing cash through ATMs and making payments
using debit cards, India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has started a new way of
retail banking. Carrying a QR (Quick Response) code, IPPB’s new QR card does
away with the necessity of both ATM and debit cards for cash and digital
transactions.
Unlike a regular debit card where you have to enter a PIN each
time you make a payment, QR cards are just scan and pay. For security all it
needs is bio metric authentication or your fingerprint scan.
Although both have their advantages, QR cards score over debit
cards if banking has to be made accessible for everyone.
IPPB’s QR card doesn’t need any password or PIN to operate
unlike debit cards. A biometric verification using your fingerprint does the
job.
Ease of banking
A QR card is probably the best option for those who do not want
to hunt for ATMs. Just ask your post office, postman or Grameen Dak Sevak (GDS)
to come down to your location and give you cash. But doorstep banking from IPPB
comes to you at a cost of Rs 25 per transaction. And for digital transactions,
the charge is even lower at Rs 15.
For the elderly, the sick or those in remote areas the ease of
banking offsets the cost of making the transaction. If you are technologically
challenged, the human intervention by a postman makes things easier. The
technology being used by India Post Payments Bank itself is quite simple.
How the QR card works
The postman or GDS, whether at your home or post office or any
other IPPB access point, scans your QR card using a smartphone app or a QR code
scanning machine. Once your credentials are identified, the postman has to make
sure that the account holder is making the transaction. ATMs or point-of-sale
machines which use debit cards do so by asking you for a PIN. Transactions are
denied in case you forget the PIN. It also carries the risk of being misused.
The QR card, on the other hand, is very simple to use. You don’t
need to remember your account number or any password. The postman will simply
scan your fingerprint, QR code and make the payment.
India Post Payments Bank is also trying to bring the unorganised
retail sector on board, which means you will soon be able to pay for your
groceries at any local kirana shop using a QR card.
QR card is cheaper
The comparative cost advantage lies not just in the cost of
manufacturing a QR card as compared to a chip-based debit card but also in the
cost of machines to make such transactions.
A QR card can be scanned easily through a smartphone app without
the need of a point-of-sale (PoS) machine
