EasyPaisa, mobile wallet used by over 9.5 million Pakistanis, started charging added Rs99 charges for failed biometric verification with NADRA and account upgradation. Users reported multiple deductions from their accounts after unsuccessful attempts to match their fingerprints.
A recent notification received by Easypaisa users said “Your fingerprints could not be matched with your ID Card from NADRA records”, asking the person to scan fingerprints.
It mentioned you can get your account biometrically verified at your nearest retailer, and that a fee of Rs. 99 will be charges from your account for biometric verification.
Easypaisa clears air on the charges
The company representative said biometric verification fee is mandatory charge imposed by NADRA and is applicable across the industry, including services like Easypaisa. It said the fee is incurred for each inquiry, regardless of the outcome—whether successful (fingerprints match) or unsuccessful (fingerprints do not match).
The role of banks is to communicate these results to users; they do not control or set the fee, which is strictly governed by NADRA’s fee structure. For instance, if a legitimate mismatch occurs between a person’s fingerprints and their CNIC data, it may be viewed as a failure for the customer but is considered a successful inquiry from the bank’s perspective, as it accurately confirms the mismatch. Thus, the fee is charged for the inquiry itself, independent of its success or failure.
