Centre's BHIM app crushes Telangana-Wallet

Hyderabad: The Centre’s BHIM App and Aadhaar-based payments system have blocked the launch of the state’s own, TS-Wallet.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had announced the launch of the of TS-Wallet — a mobile application for cashless transactions — in December last year. But bankers and service providers are said to be not particularly keen on partnering with individual state governments, after the Centre itself came out with the BHIM app and is now set to launch an Aadhaar-based payments system.

Bankers and service providers are also concerned about the security features of TS-Wallet, which was developed by the state’s IT department. The department had developed the app in December and had referred it to the government for final approval. There has been no progress after that.

The state government had even approached banks and service providers to form crucial partnerships while implementing the TS-Wallet system. But it was at this juncture, the Centre itself rolled out the BHIM App — which is the same at the state’s own digital payment solution.

“Bankers felt the TS-Wallet would be just a duplication of the BHIM App. Under TS-Wallet, we  wanted waiver of all taxes and transaction charges. And banks had asked the government to bear some losses due to the waivers. We could not come out with a proposal on how much burden the government would bear due to which there was no progress on the TS-Wallet plan, official sources from the finance department revealed.

The TS-Wallet can be used if one has a mobile phone or an Aadhaar number. But the Centre too announced an Aadhaar-based payment plan which was in direct competition with the state’s app.

Banks were also concerned about the quality of security training state staff, working on the TS-Wallet, had been provided.  They wanted the government to train the staff first on handling digital transactions, especially at Mee Seva centres, where private players rule the roost.