Some banks have attained permission to use facial recognition and an iris scan for certain transactions to counter fraud and tax evasion. The banks have been granted permission to use biometrics to verify transactions exceeding a limit specified by the Central Government.
The biometric verification by banks is being considered if the government identification card is used for tax, the PAN card hasn’t been linked to the account and the transactions are crossing specified limits.
The use of biometrics by banks has raised concerns about privacy as India doesn’t have a privacy bill. The government has a plan of getting parliamentary approval on a new privacy law by early 2023.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has shared a letter that suggested that verification must be done by using facial recognition and iris scanning in cases where fingerprint authentication fails.
Any details regarding the requirement of individuals' consent or the action to be taken by banks in cases of individuals refusing biometric verification haven’t been specified.
The advisory is a follow-up of the government's mandates of either PAN or Aadhar verifications for withdrawals or deposits of more than ₹20,00,000 Lakhs in a year.
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