NPCI chief says AI will boost UPI onboarding, fraud detection and credit

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) plans to make artificial intelligence a key part of UPI's next phase of growth as it works towards crossing one billion transactions a day.Speaking to TechCrunch during Mumbai Tech Week 2026, NPCI Managing Director and CEO Dilip Asbe said AI would play a central role in expanding UPI's user base, strengthening fraud detection and improving access to credit.According to Asbe, AI can help simplify onboarding through voice-based and multilingual interfaces while also identifying fraudulent activity and mule accounts. He said the technology could also support credit access for users and merchants with established digital payment histories.NPCI introduced a voice assistant-based interactive system in 2023. However, Asbe acknowledged that adoption has been limited so far, adding that voice technology could become an important part of digital payments once the underlying models become more accurate and compelling use cases emerge.Small AI models, FIMI and UPI competitionAsbe said India has an opportunity to build specialised small language models for the financial sector, arguing that banks, fintech firms and other ecosystem participants can develop focused AI systems using the country's rich payments data. He said such models should be precise and predictable for financial applications.He also pointed to FIMI, NPCI's AI-powered dispute resolution model launched last year, saying it is already helping more than one million users with mandate cancellations and issue resolution, with usage continuing to grow.On competition in the UPI ecosystem, Asbe said the dominance of PhonePe and Google Pay reflects years of investment and the absence of a sustainable commercial model for newer players. He said fresh investment from competing apps is likely once viable business models emerge.While NPCI spun off the BHIM UPI app in 2024 to improve its competitiveness, Asbe said the organisation is not pursuing a specific market share target. Instead, it wants BHIM to serve as a secure and sovereign alternative within the UPI ecosystem. The market share cap of 30 percent for individual UPI apps is currently scheduled to take effect by the end of 2026 unless the deadline is extended.