Paytm Payments Bank is going to have a million points from where cash can be withdrawn. The entire banking system—all the bank branches and ATMs cumulatively—currently offers only a third of that. Sharma’s bank will basically turn any merchant and corner store into a cash withdrawal point called ‘Paytm ka ATM’.
How does the authentication work?
It will be a combination of several things. It will utilize the Aadhaar backbone, which means the devices with merchants could be equipped with fingerprint or iris scanners, or both.
Paytm Payments Bank is going to authenticate transactions using voice as a unique biometric signature. In effect, this means you can walk into any establishment that is a ‘Paytm ka ATM’ and ask for money. And when it asks for authentication, the customer will get a call on their phone, and they just have to say a pre-set pass phrase, like “My name is Meena.”
“Your voice is as unique a signature as iris or fingerprints,” says Sharma, adding that the technology works even if you have a cough or cold. It works in any language.
A bank where authentication is as easy as speaking to a teller, with one million touch points. What it can do to universalize banking and expand the reach of the formal economy is tremendous.-from HP
