Indian payments chief thinks AI will power UPI's next growth wave
Dilip Asbe, CEO of India's National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), says artificial intelligence will be heavily involved in the next era of digital payment growth. As UPI nears one billion daily transactions, the indian payments chief thinks AI will power user onboarding, fraud prevention, credit distribution, and multilingual support across the network.
Key Takeaways
- NPCI CEO Dilip Asbe told TechCrunch that AI will drive UPI's next growth phase, targeting roughly 500 million additional users.
- Asbe cited fraud detection, mule-account identification, credit access, and voice-based multilingual onboarding as core AI use cases.
- UPI now processes more than 750 million daily transactions, with NPCI aiming to surpass one billion.
- Newer UPI apps could gain share if they find viable commercial models, though switching costs remain low.
- NPCI spun off its BHIM app in 2024 as a sovereign, secure alternative; it holds about 1% market share.
Why does India's payments chief see AI as central to UPI's future?
India's digital payment footprint has expanded sharply, and UPI sits at the center of that shift. NPCI oversees the real-time network, which now handles more than 750 million transactions per day. Asbe shared his outlook during an interview with TechCrunch at Mumbai Tech Week 2026.
He argued that reaching the next phase of scale will require NPCI, India's central bank, and the government to coordinate closely. AI, he said, must be applied across every layer of the system—not as a side experiment, but as infrastructure for the platform's next chapter. For readers tracking how AI is reshaping finance, our Future Tech & AI Wonders coverage follows these shifts closely.
How could AI help UPI reach its next 500 million users?
Asbe said AI could help onboard the next half-billion users by simplifying how people join and use the network. Voice interfaces and multilingual tools, he noted, could lower barriers for citizens who do not yet rely on digital payments daily.
Beyond onboarding, he pointed to three operational priorities. AI must protect current users by spotting fraud and identifying mule accounts. It should also extend credit to merchants and consumers who already leave digital footprints through UPI activity. Together, those capabilities frame how NPCI envisions AI supporting both growth and trust.
Can newer UPI apps compete with PhonePe and Google Pay?
Asbe acknowledged that most UPI apps share core features and that switching between them is easy for consumers. PhonePe and Google have invested heavily to secure their positions, pouring millions into their apps over the years.
Still, he said newer UPI apps could become more competitive if they build viable commercial models within the broader fintech ecosystem. Apps that find sustainable revenue paths, he suggested, will start investing more aggressively—and their market share could rise as a result.
What role does BHIM play in NPCI's UPI strategy?
In 2024, NPCI spun off its BHIM UPI app to make it more competitive and expand usage. Transaction volume on BHIM has grown since the move, but its overall market share remains around 1%.
Asbe said NPCI is not targeting a specific market-share figure for BHIM. Instead, the goal is to offer a sovereign and secure alternative to privately run UPI apps. That positioning reflects a broader push to keep India's dominant payments rail both inclusive and resilient as AI-driven features roll out nationwide.