AePS Full Form: Aadhaar Cash Withdrawal, Limits, Fraud, Refunds
Independent guide. We are not part of RBI, NPCI or any bank, and we never ask for your account details, PIN or OTP.
AePS stands for Aadhaar Enabled Payment System. It lets you withdraw cash, check your balance or get a mini statement at a Bank Mitra's micro ATM using just your Aadhaar number and fingerprint, from any bank account linked to your Aadhaar. NPCI runs it. Lock your biometrics on UIDAI when you aren't using it.
- Full form
- Aadhaar Enabled Payment System
- Run by
- NPCI; regulated by RBI
- Where
- Bank Mitra / BC micro ATM of any bank
- You need
- Aadhaar linked to your bank account + fingerprint, iris or face
- Monthly cap
- ₹50,000 cash withdrawal + BHIM Aadhaar Pay (NPCI)
- Failed transaction
- Money back within T+5 days, else ₹100 a day
- Best protection
- Lock biometrics on myAadhaar or the Aadhaar app
- Fraud
- Call 1930 and your bank at once
What is AePS?
AePS is a bank-led payment system operated by NPCI. You visit a bank agent, called a Business Correspondent (BC) or Bank Mitra, who has a small card-machine-like terminal (a micro ATM) with a fingerprint scanner. You give your Aadhaar number, choose your bank and place your finger. The bank checks your fingerprint with UIDAI and completes the transaction. No card, PIN or phone is needed.
It is interoperable: a Bank Mitra of one bank can serve the customer of another bank. That makes it the main way many villages get cash without a branch or ATM.
Services (RBI's definition, 27 Jun 2025):
- Cash withdrawal
- Cash deposit
- Fund transfer
- Balance enquiry
- Mini statement
Not every bank offers every service; NPCI lists each bank's live services. A related service, BHIM Aadhaar Pay, lets you pay a shopkeeper with your fingerprint.
How an AePS withdrawal works
Using AePS safely
What you need
- A bank account linked (seeded) to your Aadhaar. Ask your bank branch to link it if it isn't. Aadhaar guides: linking, biometric lock and more.
- Your Aadhaar number and the name of your bank. If you have several linked accounts, you choose the bank at the counter.
- Working fingerprints, or iris or face if the device supports it.
- Biometrics unlocked at that moment, if you keep them locked (see the next tab).
Step by step at a Bank Mitra
- Tell the Bank Mitra the service and amount.
- Check your Aadhaar number, bank name and amount on the screen.
- Place your finger on the scanner once.
- Count the cash, take the printed receipt and check the SMS from your bank.
AePS fraud usually means someone uses a copy of your fingerprint, or tricks you into giving it twice, to take money from your account. About 29,000 AePS fraud incidents had been reported on the national cybercrime portal by July 2024.
Lock your biometrics
- On myAadhaar or the Aadhaar app, turn on Biometric Lock. It blocks fingerprint, iris and face authentication; OTP authentication still works.
- You need a mobile number registered with Aadhaar, and an OTP to lock or unlock. No registered mobile? Update it at an Aadhaar centre first.
- Before using AePS, unlock temporarily. It stays open for about 15 minutes or one authentication, then locks again by itself.
- If biometrics are locked, the transaction fails with error 330 ("Biometrics locked by Aadhaar holder").
Check your authentication history
- On myAadhaar or the Aadhaar app, open Authentication History. It shows the last 6 months (up to 50 records at a time): type (biometric, OTP), date and time, the agency's name and success or failure.
- See an entry you don't recognise? Lock your biometrics at once, contact that agency, and report it to UIDAI on 1947 or [email protected].
At the counter
- Never let anyone take your fingerprint on paper, clay, rubber or any "form". Fingerprint copies are how AePS money is stolen.
- Give your finger once per transaction. If asked again ("server error"), ask for a receipt of the failed attempt and check your SMS first.
- Use only a Bank Mitra of a known bank, and always take a printed receipt.
- Don't share your Aadhaar number with people who don't need it; give a Virtual VID where accepted.
- NPCI has asked banks to give you ways to switch AePS debits on or off. If you never use AePS, ask your bank to turn them off.
Money gone without your fingerprint? Call 1930 or report at cybercrime.gov.in, tell your bank in writing the same day, and lock your biometrics.
Limits and charges
- ₹50,000 a month: NPCI's cumulative cap on AePS cash withdrawals and BHIM Aadhaar Pay together. Your bank may set lower per-transaction or daily limits.
- Extra check: in 2026–27 NPCI introduced step-up authentication for AePS cash withdrawals and BHIM Aadhaar Pay, so some transactions may need an additional verification step.
- Charges: neither RBI nor NPCI publishes a fee for customers. Ask the Bank Mitra before you start, and refuse to pay anything not shown on the receipt.
Failed transactions: account debited, no cash
RBI's turnaround-time rules (in force from 15 Oct 2019) set these deadlines. "T" is the day of the transaction, counted in calendar days.
| What happened | Deadline | If late |
|---|---|---|
| AePS: account debited but confirmation not received at the agent (no cash) | Agent's bank to start a "credit adjustment" within T+5 days | ₹100 a day to you |
| AePS: account debited but beneficiary account not credited (transfer) | Credit adjustment within T+5 days | ₹100 a day to you |
| Micro ATM: account debited but cash not dispensed | Reversal within T+5 days | ₹100 a day to you |
The refund should come without a complaint, and the compensation is payable automatically. Still, keep the receipt and report it to your bank so the clock is on record.
Complaints
Complain to your own bank (branch, helpline or website) with the date, amount, agent's location and the reference on the receipt. Your bank raises the dispute with the agent's bank through NPCI.
No reply in 30 days, or unhappy? Complain to the RBI Ombudsman under RB-IOS at cms.rbi.org.in or call 14448, within 90 days. It is free. How to complain under RB-IOS.
Also call 1930 or file at cybercrime.gov.in at once; fast reporting can freeze the money.
History
RBI's T+5 refund and ₹100-a-day compensation rule for failed AePS transactions takes effect.
RBI announces it will tighten onboarding of AePS agents after frauds.
The government tells Parliament of about 29,000 reported AePS frauds, NPCI's ₹50,000 monthly cap and per-transaction biometric checks for agents.
RBI issues due-diligence rules for AePS touchpoint operators (agents): full KYC, re-KYC after 3 months' inactivity, and bank fraud monitoring.
Those RBI rules come into effect.
FAQs
Can someone take money with just my Aadhaar number?
Not with the number alone; AePS also needs your fingerprint, iris or face. That is why fraudsters try to copy fingerprints. Locking your biometrics on myAadhaar stops all biometric use until you unlock.
Will locking biometrics stop my pension or ration?
It stops any service that needs your fingerprint, iris or face. Unlock temporarily (about 15 minutes or one use) when you need it; OTP-based services keep working.
My account was debited but I got no cash. What now?
Keep the receipt and tell your bank. Under RBI rules the money must come back within T+5 days; after that you get ₹100 for each day of delay.
Can I use AePS with any bank's Bank Mitra?
Yes, AePS is interoperable, provided your bank is live on AePS and your account is linked to your Aadhaar.
How much can I withdraw?
NPCI caps AePS cash withdrawals and BHIM Aadhaar Pay at ₹50,000 a month together. Your bank may set lower limits.
What does error 330 mean?
Your biometrics are locked. Unlock them temporarily on myAadhaar or the Aadhaar app and try again.
Official sources
- RBI – AePS: Due Diligence of AePS Touchpoint Operators (27 Jun 2025) (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- RBI – Harmonisation of TAT and compensation for failed transactions (20 Sep 2019) (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- PIB (Ministry of Home Affairs) – Cases of biometric cloning for financial fraud (31 Jul 2024) (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- UIDAI – Authentication FAQs: biometric lock, authentication history (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- NPCI – AePS circulars (OC 096, FY 2026–27: step-up authentication) (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- NPCI – Banks live on AePS (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- NPCI – BHIM Aadhaar Pay (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- RBI – Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026 (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- Ministry of Home Affairs – National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
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