Unified Payments Interface (UPI) users in India may soon be able to give AI agents limited authority to complete payments on their behalf.
Three sources told Reuters that the Unified Agent Protocol may be introduced at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai next week.
The IMF ranks UPI as the world’s largest retail fast-payment system by transaction volume.
The network processed 24.51 billion transactions valued at ₹29.82 trillion (US$314.21 billion) in August.
Pine Labs has already introduced its own agentic payment system in India.
Its P3P protocol allows an AI agent to complete UPI payments after a customer approves a mandate.
How Agentic Payments Could Work on UPI
The proposed UPI framework may adapt two existing services.
Reserve Pay places a temporary hold on funds that can cover several debits.
UPI Circle separately enables an account holder to assign limited payment authority to another user.
Reserve Pay blocks are capped at ₹10,000 (US$105.44) for up to 90 days. Both conditions could be revised for payments initiated by AI agents.
Initial applications are expected to focus on everyday spending, including grocery orders.
Agents could eventually place orders when relevant discounts become available.
Each customer would define the agent’s payment permissions and spending ceiling.
Other proposed safeguards include identity checks and transaction records.
The sources indicated that rules assigning responsibility for payment disputes are also planned, but did not explain how they would work.
NPCI has not publicly confirmed the framework and did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by besphotographer via Magnific
