Ranchi, Dec. 13: Your bank is now at your fingertips. Literally so.

Oxigen Services, one of India's payment solutions providers, has launched biometric micro ATMs that allow people to withdraw small amounts of money from their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts by means of thumb impression.

The primary objective is to help people at the grassroots who may not have bank cards to swipe or aren't tech-savvy enough to use e-wallets on smartphones. To promote the facility in semi-urban settlements, the micro payment agency has also teamed up with Indian Oil Corporation so that fuel bunks can host these special point of sale machines.

Aslam Sher Khan, manager of Oxigen Services in Ranchi, said there were 22 business establishments in the capital and on its outskirts that had embraced biometric micro ATMs. "The IOC has tied up with us. Today, we launched a device at Indraprastha Petrol Pump in Dhurwa."

Using the biometric ATM is child's play, said Khan. "Suppose, you can't pay the grocer in cash and are not tech-savvy to use cards or e-wallets. What do you do? All you need is a bank account linked to your unique ID or Aadhaar number while the grocer should have one of our biometric machines. Give your thumb impression, choose your bank and account number, and you are done," he explained.

Sanjay Kumar, who owns a mobile accessories store at Kishoreganj Chowk, has installed an Oxigen micro ATM. "People can both pay through these machines or withdraw petty cash. Kishoreganj has a large working class population - people who do not have debit cards or smartphones. Their weekly need is Rs 200-300. They now come to my shop," he said.

Explaining how people are using the Oxigen device, Sanjay said, "A customer may need to recharge phone, pay bill or withdraw money. Most come to withdraw small amounts. Once the machine reads the thumb impression, the screen shows bank and account options linked to Aadhaar. The person transfers money to me online and I pay them hard cash."

Although the maximum daily withdrawal limit from micro ATMs is Rs 2,000, the shopkeeper said people who use the biometric system hardly demand more than Rs 500.

Oxigen Services is providing the biometric point of sale machines to traders at Rs 8,000 each. "A trader receive Re 1 as incentive per transaction from the associated bank. We are eyeing new clients in Nagri, where the state government is pushing for a cashless village. We may launch our service in Nagri as early as tomorrow," manager Khan added.

With the competition hotting up, e-wallet Paytm, which has over 9,000 users in Ranchi alone - from vegetable vendors at Daily Market to Kaveri Restaurant, is mulling its facilities for basic phones too.

"We understand that there are many people who do not have smartphones; so, the company will soon float a number that can be used by basic phone users to access our services," said Avinash Kumar, manager of Paytm in Ranchi.