12 hrs ago

UPI’s Next Decade Targets Invisible, Intelligent, Cross-Border Finance

UPI made it easy for people in India to pay digitally.

Now financial companies are thinking about what should happen next.

In the future, people might tell an AI agent what they want, and it could complete a payment for them.

For example, an agent might pay a bill or buy a ticket when the price meets a chosen limit.

People would still need to set rules and approve important actions.

UPI’s next stage could also help people borrow, save, invest and buy insurance.

Companies are working on ways for visitors and people living abroad to use Indian payment services.

Wizz Financial wants different wallets and payment systems to work together across countries.

The biggest challenges will be trust, fraud, privacy, consent and responsibility when payments become more automatic.

Key facts

UPI transactions: UPI processed 24.51 billion transactions in August 2026.
UPI transaction value: Those August 2026 transactions were worth ₹29.82 trillion.
Future AI payments: AI agents could execute routine payments within consumer-defined limits.
NPCI initiative: NPCI is developing a Unified Agent Protocol and registry to verify and monitor AI agents conducting UPI transactions.
Financial inclusion: The next phase is described as helping consumers borrow, save, grow and insure, in addition to making payments.
Cross-border reach: Wizz Financial says its platform serves more than 5 million customers across 150 countries.
Key risks: Consent, liability, fraud, privacy and accountability remain major challenges for increasingly autonomous payments.

CNBC TV 18 · 13 hrs ago