India's digital payments ecosystem is getting an AI overhaul, according to Dilip Asbe, MD and CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Speaking at Mumbai Tech Week 2026, Asbe laid out a roadmap for the next phase of growth—one built on artificial intelligence.
India's Unified Payment Interface (UPI) now handles over 750 million daily transactions. Asbe is targeting a billion transactions a day, with AI as the driver.
"AI will be used very effectively when we look at the next wave of UPI, and that includes all aspects, including reaching new users," Asbe told TechCrunch. "We must use AI effectively to protect our current citizens, to find fraud, and to find mules. AI must also be used to provide credit to all the users and merchants who have digital footprints."
Voice-powered AI could unlock onboarding in a multilingual, fragmented market like India. The NPCI launched a voice assistant system in 2023, but uptake has been slow. Better AI models may change that.
"We must use AI to look at the voice and multilingual solutions to make onboarding simpler," he said. He acknowledged voice technology is still in early stages and that models need improvement before voice becomes a core payment tool.
Asbe also sees a regulatory need. Unlike the U.S.—where Coinbase and Robinhood permit AI agents to trade on users' behalf—India's payments chief wants safeguards. Robust frameworks protecting users and ensuring transparency around agent actions are necessary for India to safely deploy AI-powered finance.
Asbe believes India has the data and talent to build small language models for its fintech ecosystem. That competition is already underway.
