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Indian payments chief thinks AI will be heavily involved in next era of digital payment growth

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3 weeks ago

June 28, 2026

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India’s digital payment share has increased over the years, with the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) growing to over 750 million daily transactions. With an aim to reach over a billion daily transactions, Dilip Asbe, MD and CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India, which oversees UPI, thinks AI would be heavily involved in the next phase for user growth, fraud prevention, and credit distribution.

During an interview with TechCrunch at Mumbai Tech Week (MTW) 2026 last month, Asbe said AI could drive the next half a billion users with NPCI, India’s central bank, and the government working together.

“AI will be used very effectively when we look at the next wave of UPI, and that includes all aspects, including reaching new users. 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,” he said. “We must use AI to look at the voice and multilingual solutions to make onboarding simpler.”

Many companies have talked about voice as an interface being important in India for chatting with companies or systems. Asbe believes that it is early days for that, as voice models will need to be more accurate. NPCI launched a voice assistant-based interactive system in 2023. Asbe noted that adoption for that yet to take off, and with the right use case, voice can become a critical component in the payment ecosystem.

AI in finance and regulations

In the U.S., startups and public companies are racing to add AI to finance. Coinbase and Robinhood now allow agents to trade on users’ behalf, and OpenAI lets you load personal account data into ChatGPT to get financial advice. NPCI has shown some demos around agentic commerce and payments with Razorpay last year. However, there hasn’t been a wider rollout of some of these capabilities.

NPCI’s CEO thinks that with robust regulations and a framework, India can also adopt AI-powered finance. He said that there should be enough protection for users and mitigation for risk — and in case something goes wrong, the system should be able to look at the instructions and consent given by the user to an agent.

Besides the usage of models, Asbe thinks that the Indian finance ecosystem has an opportunity to build small language models.

“We believe that the models will differentiate from each other based on the data sets that are made available to them,” he said. “We have a very rich data set in our ecosystem. I think there is a big opportunity for Indian companies — the banks, FinTechs, and the ecosystem — to create small language models which are sharp, specific, and as deterministic as possible.”

Last year, NPCI launched a model called FIMI to solve user disputes. Asbe noted that it is serving over a million users to cancel mandates and resolve issues, and is scaling fast.

UPI competition

NPCI has long sought healthy competition between UPI apps, but data suggests that Walmart-owned PhonePe and Google Pay have over 80% of the market share. The regulator’s plan to cap an app’s market share at 30% is set to take effect on December 31, 2026, unless it defers the deadline date again.

During the conversation, Asbe said that UPI apps have very low switching costs and most core features are shared. He noted that PhonePe and Google have poured millions into their apps to attain their market position. He said that if new apps find viable business models within the fintech ecosystem, their share will rise.

“I believe that there are multiple issues why we see this concentration risk exist, and one of the important reasons is the availability of a viable commercial model. The moment we see the commercial model being available to the ecosystem, I believe newer players will start investing very heavily,” Asbe said.

In 2024, the payment body spun off its BHIM UPI app to make it more competitive and grow its usage. While its transaction volume has grown, its overall market share is around 1%. Asbe said that with BHIM, there is no particular target market share NPCI is eyeing. But it wants to make it a sovereign and secure alternative to other apps, Asbe said.

India is one of the biggest digital economies, and investors around the world will be looking at the regulatory landscape to put money into newer fintech solutions and make the market more competitive.

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Related Topics:chief DIGITAL era growth heavily Indian involved payment payments thinks

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5 Days to Go: Can Team Nigeria Strike Commonwealth Gold First in Glasgow?

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2 hours ago

July 18, 2026

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With just five days until the opening of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, attention is already turning to the event that could deliver Nigeria’s first golden moment—and perhaps the first gold medal of the entire Games.

When competition begins on Friday, July 24, all eyes will be on the SEC Armadillo, where Para Powerlifting will crown the first champions of Glasgow 2026. Among the athletes expected to light up the competition is Nigeria’s celebrated para powerlifting star, Folashade Oluwafemiayo, who will once again carry the nation’s hopes on one of the biggest stages in world sport.

For Team Nigeria, the mission is clear: start strong, win early, and set the tone for what the National Sports Commission (NSC) believes can be a historic Commonwealth Games campaign.

Para Powerlifting will produce the first gold medal of the Games, with competition spread across two sessions featuring some of the world’s strongest para athletes. Nigeria enters the event with confidence, having built an enviable reputation as one of the Commonwealth’s leading para powerlifting nations.

Oluwafemiayo, a multiple-time world champion and one of Nigeria’s most decorated para athletes, is widely tipped as one of the favourites to mount the podium once again. Her experience, consistency and dominance have made her one of Team Nigeria’s brightest medal prospects.

The sport has become one of Nigeria’s greatest success stories at international competitions, with the country’s para athletes consistently proving that determination, discipline and resilience can overcome every challenge.

To further inspire the athletes, the National Sports Commission has unveiled an enhanced performance reward package ahead of the Games.

Under the incentive programme, every Nigerian athlete who wins a gold medal will receive an instant cash reward of $3,000, while silver and bronze medalists will earn $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. Medal-winning coaches will also receive matching incentives.

Beyond the immediate rewards, the Federal Government has approved additional performance bonuses of $5,000 for gold, $3,000 for silver, and $2,000 for bronze, to be paid directly into the athletes’ bank accounts—another demonstration of its commitment to rewarding excellence and encouraging podium performances.

With Team Nigeria targeting 20 gold medals in Glasgow, a golden start in Para Powerlifting would not only boost morale but also provide the perfect launchpad for the rest of the delegation.

The countdown continues.

In just five days, Nigeria’s pursuit of Commonwealth glory begins where strength meets determination.

Will the Green and White celebrate the first gold medal of Glasgow 2026?

The answer is only days away.

5 Days to Go. One Team. One Nation. One Golden Mission. 🇳🇬🏅

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TCN Announces Two-Day Blackout in Six Northern States

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2 hours ago

July 18, 2026

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Residents of six northern states will experience a temporary power outage this weekend following a planned maintenance exercise by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

The affected states are Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa and Taraba, with major cities including Bauchi, Damaturu, Maiduguri, Yola and Jalingo expected to be impacted.

In a statement issued on Saturday, TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said the blackout is necessary to enable the installation of an Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) on the 330kV Jos–Bauchi–Gombe single-circuit transmission line at the Bauchi 330/132/33kV transmission substation.

According to the company, the maintenance work will affect bulk electricity supply to the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) and the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC), preventing both distribution companies from supplying electricity to customers in the affected areas during the exercise.

“As a result, Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) and Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC) will be unable to off-take electricity for onward delivery to customers in Bauchi, Gombe, Damaturu, Maiduguri, Yola, Jalingo and their environs,” the statement read.

TCN assured residents that the outage is temporary and that electricity supply will be restored immediately after the installation work is completed.

“Please note that bulk power supply will be restored immediately after the exercise,” the company added.

The planned outage is part of ongoing efforts by TCN to strengthen the nation’s transmission infrastructure and improve the reliability and efficiency of electricity supply across the country.