Roll out more user-friendly version of USSD for cashless payments: CMs

NEW DELHI: The Chief Ministers’ panel on digital payments has advised the Union Government to roll out from December 25 a more user-friendly version of USSD or *99# being used on feature mobile phones for making cashless payments. This is necessary as the cash crunch due to demonetisation continues, it said.

“Upgraded version of USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) may be rolled out by December 25,” the panel suggested to the finance ministry. According to an official statement on Saturday, the panel, whose convener is AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, also proposed that it’s high time a simplified procedure in relation to KYC facility using Aadhaar was adopted.

These recommendations were made at the second sitting of the panel at NITI Aayog on Friday. The meeting was preceded by discussions Mr Naidu and NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya held with RBI governor and its senior officials as also CMDs of major private and public sector banks, in Mumbai on Thursday.

Aadhaar Enabled Payment System application soon
The Chief Ministers’ panel on digital payments has advised the Union Government to roll out from December 25 a more user-friendly version of USSD or *99# being used on feature mobile phones for making cashless payments.

While noting that the RBI and banks are largely supportive of the measures to promote digital transactions, the panel suggested steps including easing of the digital payment operations at the level of merchants/markets.

It said UIDAI would shortly roll out the common Android-based Aadhaar Enabled Payment System application developed in collaboration with TCS. In order to use this application merchants will need a smart phone and a fingerprint scanner.