The National Payments Corporation of India is preparing a framework that could allow artificial intelligence agents to make limited payments through the Unified Payments Interface on behalf of users, potentially bringing agentic AI into India's digital payments ecosystem.
The proposed system would allow users to give an AI agent permission to complete certain transactions without requiring approval for every individual payment. The authority would remain subject to conditions defined by the user, including limits on how much the agent can spend and when payments can be made.
The framework, reportedly called the Unified Agent Protocol, or UAP, is being developed by NPCI in consultation with the payments industry. It could be unveiled at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, according to reports. NPCI had not publicly confirmed the launch timeline at the time of reporting.
Under the proposed model, everyday purchases such as groceries could become an early use case. A user could instruct an AI assistant to purchase specified products within a predetermined budget. If the transaction meets the conditions already authorised by the user, the agent could complete the UPI payment without requiring separate approval.
The framework is expected to incorporate safeguards including spending limits, identity checks and transaction audit trails. NPCI is also reportedly working on a liability framework to determine responsibility when AI agents are involved in transactions.
The protocol could build on existing UPI mechanisms such as UPI Circle and Reserve Pay. UPI Circle allows a primary account holder to delegate payment authority, while Reserve Pay enables funds to be blocked for multiple future debits. These capabilities could provide some of the infrastructure required to give AI agents controlled payment permissions.
NPCI is also expected to provide infrastructure that merchants can integrate into their systems, enabling customers to create rule-based instructions governing when and how much an AI agent can pay.
The development comes as NPCI expands its use of AI across India's payments infrastructure. Earlier this year, it introduced FiMI, a financial-domain language model that powers its UPI Help Assistant. NPCI has also partnered with Nvidia to develop sovereign AI capabilities for India's payments ecosystem.
UPI processed 24.51 billion transactions worth Rs 29.82 trillion in August, highlighting the scale at which agentic payments could eventually operate if the proposed framework is implemented.
The initiative reflects a broader shift towards agentic commerce, where AI systems move beyond recommending products or services and are authorised to perform specific actions on a user's behalf.
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