India's National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is working on a framework called the Unified Agent Protocol that would allow AI agents to execute small digital payments on a user's behalf through UPI, without requiring sign-off on every individual transaction.
Three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the protocol is expected to be unveiled at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, running from 9 to 11 September 2026. NPCI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The proposed system would build on two existing UPI mechanisms. UPI Circle already allows a primary account holder to delegate payment authority to a secondary user, a role that could now be filled by an AI agent. Reserve Pay allows customers to block funds for multiple debits in advance. Banks currently cap such blocks at 10,000 rupees ($105.44) for up to 90 days, though sources said those limits may be revisited for agentic use.
Under the framework, customers would set rule-based instructions specifying when and how much an AI agent can pay, with built-in spending limits, audit trails and identity checks. NPCI is expected to provide infrastructure that allows merchants to integrate directly with the system.
Over time, NPCI expects use cases to grow more sophisticated, for example, AI agents placing orders when products are offered at specified discounts, or making investments when prices reach predetermined thresholds.
UPI, which processed 24.51 billion transactions worth 29.82 trillion rupees ($314.21 billion) in August, is the world's largest retail fast-payment system by transaction volume, according to a 2025 IMF report. A national agentic standard would put India among the first countries to build this kind of infrastructure at scale, joining private-sector rollouts already under way in the US, Europe, Singapore and Australia.
Indian fintech company Pine Labs launched its own agentic protocol, P3P, earlier this year, allowing AI agents to complete UPI payments after a single upfront customer authorisation. The NPCI proposal would differ in reach, spanning banks, payment apps, small merchants and large retailers across a unified national rail.
