NPCI Rolls Out UPI 'Tap & Pay' And AI-Powered MyUPI Support Tool

The National Payments Corporation of India unveiled two new additions to the Unified Payments Interface ecosystem on Thursday, a tap-to-pay feature for point-of-sale terminals and an artificial-intelligence-powered customer support platform called MyUPI, as the country's payments backbone continues to expand beyond QR-code-based transactions.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced the launch at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, describing the additions as aimed at making everyday UPI payments faster and giving users greater visibility and control over their transaction history. NPCI, the umbrella body that operates UPI on behalf of the RBI and the Indian Banks' Association, said the new tap-to-pay feature relies on near-field communication technology built into compatible smartphones and point-of-sale devices.

How Tap & Pay Works

The feature allows a user to simply unlock an NFC-enabled phone and tap it against a compatible point-of-sale terminal to complete a payment, without needing to open the UPI app first. NPCI said users will be able to make PIN-less transactions of up to Rs 5,000 this way, with larger amounts still requiring a UPI PIN entered directly on the terminal. Notably, the feature does not depend on the payer's own mobile data connection, since the transaction can be processed using the merchant terminal's internet connection instead, a design intended to keep payments working reliably even in areas with patchy mobile network coverage.

The tap-to-pay rollout also supports transactions linked to RuPay credit cards riding on the UPI network, extending the range of instruments that can be used at compatible terminals beyond standard bank-linked UPI accounts.

MyUPI Brings AI Into Everyday Transactions

Alongside the payment feature, NPCI introduced MyUPI, a customer-support and account-management layer built on the corporation's own small language model, referred to internally as the Finance Model for India, or FiMI. MyUPI gives users a single consolidated view of their UPI transactions and Autopay mandates across different banks and UPI apps, addressing a long-standing complaint that transaction histories are scattered across multiple apps depending on which UPI handle or bank a user transacts through.

The platform also introduces a set of safety features, including a "Safety Switch" that lets users temporarily decline UPI debit transactions if they suspect their account has been compromised, along with the ability to delink a mobile number from receiving UPI payments altogether. Other additions include contextual information about a merchant before a payment is completed, automated real-time chargeback processing for eligible disputed transactions, and a feature that allows users to automatically replay past transactions rather than re-entering payment details each time.

Part Of A Broader Fintech Push

NPCI also disclosed that biometric authentication methods on UPI, including face scans and fingerprints, have now crossed 6.29 billion transactions since their launch last year, underscoring the rapid adoption of alternatives to PIN-based authentication. Separately, RBI Deputy Governor Rohit Jain announced a controlled rollout of multicurrency capabilities on Bharat Connect, NPCI's bill-payment platform, extending its forex offering beyond the US dollar to include the euro, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and UAE dirham for a limited group of users, with wider availability planned pending the outcome of that trial.

Taken together, the announcements reflect NPCI's push to keep evolving UPI, already the world's largest retail fast-payment system by transaction volume, as both a consumer payments tool and a broader financial-services platform.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.