India is moving closer to deploying AI agents inside its dominant digital payments system, advancing a project disclosed nearly two months ago from protocol development toward a possible public rollout.
The National Payments Corporation of India is preparing to launch its Unified Agent Protocol, a framework designed to let authorized AI agents carry out certain UPI transactions without requiring users to manually approve every payment, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the plans.
The protocol could be unveiled at Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai next week, according to Reuters.
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Business Standard reported in July that NPCI was developing the Unified Agent Protocol with industry participants to create a common system for registering, verifying, and authorizing AI agents on UPI.
At the time, the protocol was still described as under development and potentially requiring regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank of India.
Reuters now reports that the framework is being prepared for rollout with controls intended to limit how much authority users hand to AI systems. Initial applications could include frequent, low-value purchases such as groceries.
Agents would reportedly operate under predetermined conditions, including spending limits, identity verification, and transaction audit trails. The framework is expected to use existing UPI infrastructure, including UPI Circle, which permits delegated payment authority, and Reserve Pay, which can block funds for future transactions.
The potential rollout would put those controls onto a network operating at enormous scale. UPI processed 24.51 billion transactions worth ₹29.82 trillion, or roughly $314.21 billion, in August alone, according to Reuters. Google Pay and PhonePe accounted for roughly three-quarters of transaction volume.
