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

Published

2 months 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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EuroMatch NPFL: “We Will Regroup and Bounce Back Stronger” — Mangut Reacts To Barau 3-1 Defeat

Published

30 minutes ago

August 31, 2026

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EuroMatch NPFL We Will Regroup and Bounce Back Stronger —.jpg

Nasarawa United head coach Mbwas Mangut has urged his players to quickly put their opening-day disappointment behind them and respond strongly after the Solid Miners suffered a 3-1 defeat to Barau FC in their EuroMatch NPFL Matchday One encounter in Kano.

Despite the scoreline, Mangut believes his team showed enough attacking promise to have taken something from the game, describing the result as an unfortunate outcome for a side that created several opportunities.

Barau FC were simply more clinical when their chances arrived, turning their opportunities into goals and securing a memorable three points in their first match of the new campaign.

For Mangut, however, the performance offered something to build on.

The Nasarawa United coach acknowledged that his players created opportunities but were unable to provide the finishing touch required to punish Barau FC. The failure to convert those openings, coupled with defensive lapses, ultimately proved costly.

“We will analyse our mistakes, regroup and bounce back stronger,” Mangut said after the encounter.

Those words now set the tone for Nasarawa United’s response as the Solid Miners prepare for their next EuroMatch NPFL assignment.

Mangut’s assessment is particularly significant because it shows that the technical crew is not looking only at the result, but also at the performance and the areas that must be corrected.

The opening-day defeat has therefore provided an early lesson for a Nasarawa United side with a long campaign ahead. Creating chances is an encouraging foundation, but the team will need greater composure in front of goal while tightening up defensively if they are to turn good performances into points.

Barau FC, meanwhile, deserve credit for making the most of their opportunities. Their 3-1 victory gives the newly promoted side an ideal beginning and provides an early glimpse of the competitiveness that could define this season’s EuroMatch NPFL.

For Nasarawa United, there is no need for panic.

There is, however, a need for a response.

Mangut has made his position clear: analyse, regroup and bounce back.

And with Matchday One now providing the first lessons of the 2026/27 campaign, the next fixture gives Nasarawa United an opportunity to show that their opening defeat was only a setback—not a reflection of what this team can become in the EuroMatch NPFL.

Business

NSIA Insurance Grows Revenue by 18% to ₦33bn, Divests Life Insurance Portfolio

Published

1 hour ago

August 31, 2026

Preport

BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—NSIA Insurance Limited one of Nigeria’s most recapitalised insurance company, on Monday released its financial statement for the year ended 31st December, 2025 with 18 percent growth in revenue.

The Chairman of the company, Dr. Adesegun Akin-Olugbade, disclosed this today during a press briefing that revenue grew to ₦33 billion in 2025, representing an 18 percent growth over N30.1 billion reported in the previous year.

Profit after tax stood in excess of ₦2 billion while total assets stood at ₦53 billion.

Committed to prompt claims payment, he said the company paid a total of ₦18 billion in claims in 2026, bringing its cumulative claims payout over the last four years to ₦47.9 billion.

Speaking further on just concluded recapitalization, he said “At the AGM, the shareholders ratified the capitalisation of N6 billion from retained earnings, increasing the company’s issued share capital from N9 billion to N15 billion through a bonus issue of two new shares for every three shares held, this strengthened the company’s capital base without requiring any additional investment from shareholders and ensured full compliance with the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act of 2025.

This achievement according to him was driven by sustained financial performance, with shareholders’ funds growing by 74.3 percent from N13.6 billion in 2021 to 23.7 billion in 2025, supported by cumulative profit after tax of over N9.3 billion during the period.

The move he said will strengthened the company’s capital base without requiring additional investment from shareholders, while ensuring full compliance with the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act of 2025.

He noted that as part of its strategic repositioning,it has transitioned to operate exclusively as a non-life insurer, enabling the company to deepen its focus on general insurance.

He disclosed that its proposed transfer of its life insurance portfolio will be to CHI Consolidated Hallmark CHI Life Assurance Limited, and this, he said has received approval in principle from National Insurance Commission,(NAICOM), and will be completed upon the conclusion of the remaining legal and regulatory processes.

Looking ahead, he reassured that NSIA remains committed to disciplined underwriting, digital innovation, superior customer service, and sustainable value creation for its customers, shareholders, and the Nigerian economy.

Also, managing Director/CEO, of the company, Moruf Apampa, explained the company’s decision to divest its life insurance portfolio to CHI Life Assurance Limited.

According to him the decision was deliberate and designed to eliminate distractions that could hinder growth in the general insurance segment.

“We’ve decided to have a more focused strategy to drive our general business. By doing so, we’re able to scale better than before because there’s no distraction — we’re focused on driving the numbers,” he said.

He disclosed that a key part of the company’s strategy is to achieve deep household penetration across the country, targeting what he described as an “NSIA family” in every Nigerian home.

“For every householder in Nigeria, we must have an NSIA family. That’s very strategic for us, and it’s deliberate. That’s where we believe we can scale, and that’s what we intend to do deliberately over the next five years,” he said.

Highlighting the company’s strength in motor insurance, he said NSIA has built a claims process designed for speed, with dedicated teams inspecting claims and, in many cases, processing payment on the same day.

“When I say motor, I can conveniently tell you that if you report a claim today, we have a team that will inspect that same claim and give you feedback that same day. If possible, once you sign, you also receive your benefit that same day,” he said, adding that this reflects the kind of institution NSIA aims to be.

He stressed that the company prioritizes customers over profit, arguing that insurers should not celebrate strong profits while shortchanging policyholders on claims.

“We’re not putting profit before the customer — we’re putting the customer before the profit. How would you feel if we came here to announce a ₦3 billion profit, but only ₦2 billion was paid out as claims, while customers outside are complaining?” he asked.

According to him, consistent delivery of value to customers is what builds trust and repeat business in the insurance industry.

“It’s usually about the message, not the messenger, and the message is always right. By delivering value to the customer, that’s when they gain the confidence to come back, repeat their purchase, and tell others that insurance actually works,” he said.

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