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(The story was updated with easypaisa’s response to the article.)

Easypaisa has been deducting Rs. 99 from users’ accounts who are failing their biometric verification with NADRA. One individual shared with ProPakistani that they were charged this fee multiple times after unsuccessful attempts to match their fingerprints.

The message users receive following a failed verification reads:

Your fingerprints could not be matched against your CNIC from NADRA. Please ensure that you are scanning your own fingerprints with a clear background. You can also get your account biometrically verified by visiting your nearest retailer. Fee of Rs. 99 was deducted from your account.

Here is what the message looks like.

In response to ProPakistani’s request, Easypaisa said:

Why is easypaisa charging money for failed biometric verification?
The fee for biometric verification is a regulatory requirement imposed by NADRA, not easypaisa. This fee is charged by NADRA industry wide. The outcome of the inquiry, whether successful or unsuccessful, does not influence this fee. Our role is solely to communicate the result to the user; the fee is charged for the inquiry itself, not based on the success or failure of the verification. For instance, in cases where there is a legitimate mismatch of fingerprints with the CNIC data from NADRA, it may be considered a failure for the customer, but for the bank, it is a successful inquiry confirming a mismatch. The charges are levied as per NADRA’s fee structure for each inquiry, and are not charged by the bank.

Is it for every account or just new accounts?
This fee applies only when a customer upgrades to an L1 account, i.e., when they wish to increase their transaction limits and move to the next account level. For all other instances where biometric verification (BVS) is conducted through the app, there is no cost to the customer.

What about physical verification?
No charges are applied for physical verification.

What happens if there are insufficient funds in the account?
The inquiry will not be processed.

Easypaisa quietly introduced a monthly SMS alert fee of Rs. 15 last year, which raised concerns regarding compliance with the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) instructions. In a circular issued in January 2022, SBP directed all banks and microfinance institutions to provide free SMS and email alerts for all digital transactions, both international and domestic.

These alerts were to be sent immediately after transactions were executed. Despite this, users continue to be charged for SMS alerts, and many have reported delays in receiving notifications, which causes inconvenience when tracking transactions.