NPCI Unveils Agentic AI-Powered IoT Payments via UPI, Signaling India’s Next Leap in Intelligent Commerce

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) today showcased a live demonstration of Agentic AI-based IoT Payments powered by UPI, highlighting the next phase of seamless, intelligent digital transactions.

Image - X/Kushal Jasani

The demonstration was presented in the presence of Shri Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder & Chairman, Infosys and Hon. Advisor to NPCI on Innovations & Public Policy. The feature, which is currently in the pilot stage, showcased how users can discover and order items seamlessly from merchants through AI platforms such as Gemini, bringing greater convenience and personalization to digital commerce.

The solution is enabled by user-authorized AI chatbots, agents, and applications capable of initiating UPI payments based on contextual triggers, voice or text commands, and user-defined routines. These AI-powered systems can operate across devices, ensuring secure, efficient, and intuitive payment experiences.

Shri Nandan Nilekani

This demonstration marks a significant step toward the convergence of AI, and digital payments, underscoring NPCI’s commitment to driving innovation and shaping the future of India’s digital economy.

The demonstration was attended by Shri Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder & Chairman of Infosys and Hon. Advisor to NPCI on Innovations & Public Policy, underscoring the strategic importance of this innovation in India’s fintech roadmap.

From Discovery to Payment: AI Agents Take the Lead

The pilot illustrated how user-authorized AI chatbots and applications—such as those powered by Gemini—can autonomously discover products, place orders, and initiate payments via UPI. These agents respond to contextual triggers, voice or text commands, and user-defined routines, offering a frictionless and personalized commerce experience.

“Agentic AI is redefining digital payments by making them intuitive, secure, and context-aware,” said an NPCI spokesperson. “This is not just a technical upgrade—it’s a shift toward intelligent commerce.”

A New Era of Seamless Transactions

The solution enables payments across IoT devices, allowing users to interact with smart platforms—from wearables to home assistants—without manual intervention. By integrating AI with UPI’s robust infrastructure, NPCI aims to simplify everyday transactions while enhancing security and personalization.

This initiative complements NPCI’s broader push toward biometric authentication and risk-based models, including recent rollouts of fingerprint and facial recognition for UPI payments.

Strategic Vision for India’s Digital Economy

The demonstration reflects NPCI’s commitment to shaping the future of India’s digital economy through innovation. Speaking at the event, Nilekani emphasized the convergence of AI and payments as a critical frontier for financial inclusion and user empowerment.

As the pilot progresses, NPCI plans to expand the capabilities of Agentic AI across sectors, potentially transforming retail, mobility, and public services.

Findi Ltd Finalizes Acquisition of Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd.

Tata Communications has successfully completed the divestment of its wholly owned subsidiary, Tata Communications Payment Solutions Limited (TCPSL), to Transaction Solutions International (India) Pvt Ltd (TSI), a majority-owned subsidiary of Australian digital payments and financial services provider Findi (ASX: FND).

On 13th November 2024, Tata Communications had entered into a definitive agreement with Findi, to divest its 100% equity stake in TCPSL. The transaction has now been completed following the receipt of regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the fulfilment of all conditions agreed between the parties under the relevant definitive agreement.

For Tata Communications, this move aligns with its strategic focus on high-growth areas such as network, cloud, cybersecurity, IoT, interactions, and media services, enabling the Company to sharpen its core capabilities while unlocking greater value.

For Findi, this acquisition marks a strategic expansion of its financial services ecosystem, enhancing its capabilities in digital payments and ATM operations. The acquisition immediately equips Findi with a White Label ATM platform and license, a Payments Switch, and a network of over 4,600 ATMs. Additionally, it enables Findi to deploy ATMs across its extensive network of 180,000+ merchants (under its FindiPay and BankIT brands).

Kabir Ahmed Shakir, CFO, Tata Communications, said: “This divestment marks a significant milestone in our journey to streamline our portfolio and focus on areas that drive long-term growth and innovation. We are confident that TSI is well-positioned to drive the next phase of growth for TCPSL and will further strengthen and scale this business, ensuring continued value for customers and stakeholders.”

Deepak Verma, MD and CEO, Findi , said: “The acquisition of Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd is a critical piece in our journey to become the most trusted enabler of financial empowerment for India’s underserved. TCPSL’s current ATM portfolio, white label license and Payment Switch give us immediate scale, as well as the ability to deploy ATMs to our merchant network, transforming them to a full stack financial hub, and empowering them to expand their services and better serve underbanked communities.”

Both Tata Communications and Findi are committed to ensuring a seamless transition for employees, customers, and partners. This milestone represents a win-win opportunity, unlocking new growth avenues for both companies and delivering greater value to shareholders

About Findi/TSI

A majority owned subsidiary of the Australian listed entity Findi (ASX: FND), TSI financially empowers the underbanked and the underserved through its pan India network of 60,000+ services locations that provide access to cash and payment services. Keeping Trust, Accessibility and Technology at its core, TSI brings financial inclusion to Indians without access to digital services in collaboration with 12 major Indian banks.

Top–10 Payments Trends for 2025

The ongoing transformation of the payments industry, driven by technological advancements and the need for greater efficiency, security, and sustainability, the year 2023-24 saw varied trends.

From the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Quantum-Secure Encryption and Biometric Authentication, the year 2023-24 witnessed various technological advancements.

Considering the ongoing evolution of the payments industry, driven by technological advancements and the need for greater efficiency and security, here are the top 10 payments trends for 2025, as highlighted by industry experts:

1. Outsmarting AI–Fraudsters with AI:

Generative AI is being used to combat cybercrime, with companies deploying AI-driven fraud prevention tools to predict and neutralize threats in real time.

Fraudsters are increasingly using AI to create sophisticated scams, such as deepfake videos and personalized phishing messages. However, the same technology is being harnessed to combat these threats.

For instance, Mastercard's Decision Intelligence Pro uses generative AI to analyze 1 trillion data points in less than 50 milliseconds to predict whether a transaction is genuine. This has boosted fraud protection rates significantly. Similarly, AI-powered fraud detection tools are being used to analyze vast amounts of data in real time, helping businesses and individuals stay ahead of fraudsters. 

2. Empowering Small Businesses with Digital Tools:

Centralized platforms are providing small businesses with tools to automate tasks, launch personalized marketing campaigns, and gain actionable insights.

3. Unified Commerce:

Unified commerce, also known as omnichannel commerce, refers to the integration of all retail channels to provide a seamless shopping experience for customers. It ensures that customers have a consistent experience across all channels, whether they are shopping online, in-store, or through a mobile app.

Unified commerce is transforming the retail landscape by merging online and offline channels into a cohesive system that enhances customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

In Unified Commerce, retailers use integrated systems to manage inventory, orders, customer data, and payments in real-time. This integration allows for better inventory management and reduces the risk of stockouts or overstocking. It allows for flexible fulfillment options such as buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), ship from store, and curbside pickup, catering to customer preferences and improving convenience.

4. Digital Identity on Demand:

Biometrics and passkeys are replacing traditional passwords, offering enhanced security and convenience.

Digital Identity on Demand refers to the ability to access and verify digital identities in real-time, providing secure and seamless authentication for various services. Using biometrics like fingerprints, facial recognition, or iris scans for identity verification. This method is highly secure and convenient for users.

Digital versions of driver's licenses stored on mobile devices, allowing for quick and secure verification during transactions or identity checks.

Technologies that minimize the collection of personal data while still providing robust identity verification, such as zero-knowledge proofs.

Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) are cryptographic methods that allow one party to prove to another party that a statement is true without revealing any additional information about the statement itself. ZKPs are widely used in blockchain technology to enhance privacy and security. For example, zk-SNARKs (zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge) are used in cryptocurrencies like Zcash to enable private transactions.

ZKPs must satisfy two properties: soundness (if the statement is false, no cheating prover can convince the verifier otherwise) and completeness (if the statement is true, the honest prover can convince the verifier.

These advancements are making digital identity verification more secure, efficient, and user-friendly.

5. Simplifying B2B Payments:

The evolution of B2B payments is accelerating, making transactions smoother and more efficient. The evolution of B2B (Business-to-Business) payments has been remarkable over the past few decades, driven by technological advancements and changing business needs.

Virtual cards are becoming more popular in the B2B sector, offering secure payment options and revenue-generating opportunities.

AI is being used to automate and optimize payment processes, detect fraud, and provide personalized payment experiences. Machine learning algorithms can analyze transaction patterns to improve efficiency and security.

Advanced security measures, such as multi-factor authentication, tokenization, and biometric authentication, are being employed to protect sensitive financial data.

Open banking initiatives and APIs are enabling seamless integration between financial institutions and non-financial businesses, allowing for more flexible and efficient payment solutions.

6. Embedded Finance:

Businesses are embedding financial products directly into their ecosystems, offering seamless financial services.

Embedded finance is a rapidly growing trend where financial services are integrated into non-financial platforms and applications.

For example, a retail app might offer a "Buy Now, Pay Later" option at checkout.

Companies like Stripe and Plaid offer APIs that enable non-financial businesses to integrate banking services into their platforms. This allows users to access financial services seamlessly within the tools and services they already use.

An another example of embedded finance is White-Label Neobanking where businesses launch their own branded financial products without building the infrastructure from scratch. This is often done through partnerships with licensed banks and technology providers.

Embedded finance platforms can facilitate real-time transactions, reducing delays associated with traditional banking. For instance, DailyPay allows workers to access their earned wages instantly through their employer's app.

7. AI-Powered Payments:

AI is transforming fraud prevention, personalized checkout experiences, and customer service in payments.

Mastercard uses AI to analyze billions of historical transactions to identify patterns and detect potential fraud in real-time. This helps in minimizing payment fraud while reducing friction for genuine customers. PayPal has an AI assistant named "PayPal Claude" that handles over 30 million customer requests annually. Mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Wallet use AI to enhance security and personalize user experiences.

Companies like Ripple use AI to facilitate cross-border payments by optimizing transaction routes and reducing processing time.

8. Sustainability:

Sustainability is becoming a key focus, with companies adopting eco-friendly practices in their payment systems. For example, Digital wallets or mobile payments significantly reduced the use of physical credit and debit cards, thereby cutting down on plastic waste.

Services like Paytm, BHIM UPI in India and M-Pesa in Kenya allow users to make payments via their mobile phones, reducing the need for physical banking infrastructure and promoting financial inclusion.

Some companies are producing payment cards made from recycled materials or biodegradable plastics to reduce environmental impact.

9. Cross-Border Payments:

Advances in technology are making cross-border payments faster and more accessible.

Countries like China, Thailand, Hong Kong, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia are collaborating on Project mBridge, which uses distributed ledger technology (DLT) to enable direct interbank transactions in local currencies.

Tokenized ecosystems are becoming more prominent, with initiatives like the Bank for International Settlements' (BIS) Project Agorá exploring how tokenized commercial bank deposits and wholesale CBDCs can coexist on a unified Ledger.

10. Super Apps:

Apps that offer a wide range of services, including payments, are becoming more popular. Think of it as a "Swiss army knife" for apps, combining functionalities like messaging, payments, e-commerce, social networking, and more.

Super apps are gaining popularity because they provide a seamless and integrated user experience, reducing the need for multiple separate apps. Alipay, Wechat and Grab are examples of such Super Apps.

India has seen a rise in super apps, offering a wide range of services within a single platform. Some of the notable examples are Tata Neu, Paytm, PhonePe and Clap Messenger.

Xsolla Launches Pay Station for Mobile Developers to Unlock Revenue With Customizable Checkout

Xsolla, a leading global video game commerce company, announced new solutions and feature releases during their quarterly release week. Launching this week is their powerful flagship commerce offering Xsolla Pay Station, focused on providing a simple and customizable checkout experience for mobile developers. There are two additional solutions to help developers begin their development journey and successfully manage the growth of their games post launch.

"Xsolla is committed to providing best-in-class services and support for mobile game developers worldwide to help them reach more players in more geographies," said Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla. "As the mobile gaming industry evolves, we are staying ahead of the curve by offering unique features to our mobile solution that help our partners connect with consumers and market to them directly at a lower cost per transaction.”

Xsolla Pay Station:

Xsolla Pay Station introduces significant updates to core functionality and is the only cross-platform branded payment experience for the video game industry. Features include an optimized user flow for an improved purchasing experience, a customizable user interface, streamlined mobile payments, and full support of mobile wallets worldwide.

Xsolla Pay Station delivers the only genuinely adaptive checkout experience for the video game industry and is especially tailored for mobile games. Purchasing and payment habits have significantly evolved. Customers are used to making purchases with their mobile devices and expect every aspect of their buying experience to be intuitive and straightforward. Payment solutions should meet customers' needs, adapt to multiple platforms and devices, and match customers' payment and branded expertise. Pay Station lets developers extend their branded checkout experience across platforms for their users, no matter their preferred payment device or method.

In addition to it, Xsolla’s popular mobile solution now provides more opportunities for mobile game developers to power up their marketing efforts and engage users directly by offering expanded bundles, personalized online store experiences, and unique promotions personalized to players worldwide. As the mobile landscape continues to lead global gaming revenue, Xsolla Web Shop for Mobile Games has added new mechanics, such as expanded bundles of game keys and in-game items including virtual currency, personalized storefront & promotions, to help mobile developers effectively drive users to their branded pages.

If that isn’t all, Xsolla is offering Multi-Platform Publishing, which is an advanced set of features for mobile game developers to support mobile game delivery to PC and the web. With a custom, branded client app and a seamless one-click authentication tool, mobile game developers can reach new gamers at a lower acquisition cost while increasing player loyalty and LTV. By bringing their game to new platforms, developers can grow their revenue potential by monetizing their games in new geographies. With a larger set of payment options, developers are more likely to convert non-paying players intopaying players in underserved markets. The company has further kickstarted a new funding program called Xsolla Accelarator for independent studios that seek games industry guidance and investment support early in their development cycle. Game developers can apply to educational programs led by industry mentors to help shape their game and content production and get the opportunity to receive a bridge fund of up to USD 100,000.00 to prepare them for the next stage of business valuations and investments.

Whether you are a game developer willing to process payouts to user-generated content creators, an esports platform rewarding its players, or a marketplace, Xsolla Payout is another solution by Xsolla to streamline mass payouts to hundreds or thousands of individuals. Xsolla Payouts optimizes operating efficiency by managing multiple contracts with users and content creators, holding tax interviews, facilitating tax reporting, and providing the most accurate account balance calculations.

Visa to Enable Deeper Financial Inclusion with Offline Payments in India

After a successful pilot in Karnataka last year, Visa has advanced to the next stage, making offline payments possible with a proof of concept

Bengaluru – August 24, 2021 – Visa (NYSE: V), the global leader in digital payments, is driving a Proof of Concept (POC) for offline digital payments in India. A first for the domestic payments ecosystem, the initiative is led by Visa in partnership with YES BANK and Axis Bank. The offline payments technology will allow users to make transactions using chip-based Visa debit, credit and prepaid cards even in places with low or no internet connectivity. Extending Visa’s commitment to RBI guidelines on offline payments, the solution is a significant step towards greater financial inclusion across rural, urban and remote areas. The POC has been executed in partnership with Innoviti in catchment areas in Bengaluru.

This thrust to offline payments underlines the government’s vision of digital and financial inclusion in Digital India. In a country where cards are the most popular instrument of digital payments[1] and customers and merchants are migrating from cash to digital, offline payments can allow deeper percolation in the country. Visa cardholders may soon get to request their banks for a fresh card that enables this solution.

The chip will hold a stored value of a daily spend limit of INR 2,000 and have a per transaction limit of INR 200, as currently mandated by the RBI. This is akin to having a wallet with a preloaded amount. In the event of insufficient balance, the transaction will be declined, making this proposition suitable for cardholders as well as merchants. Merchants also stand to gain revenue from reduced friction and risk of payment failures. Visa’s solution is the first of its kind and equipped to enter the Indian market.

“The pandemic’s unprecedented impact has spurred significant movement in the digital payments ecosystem. With the RBI’s cognizance of low and no connectivity being major impediments to financial inclusion, offline payments have the potential to catalyse digital payments usage even where internet connectivity is a challenge and failed transactions are a top concern. With this solution, Visa aims to work with our clients to see if this can scale with mass adoption,” said T.R. Ramachandran, Group Country Manager, India and South Asia, Visa.

Prashant Kumar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, YES BANK, said, “To drive adoption of digital transactions in remote reaches of the country and ensure financial inclusion, the Bank feels it is indispensable to invest in the right technology tools that will help service a significant proportion of the digital payments market in Bharat. We are glad for this opportunity to forge a valuable partnership that allows us to leverage emerging technologies with the potential to enrich customer journeys and make them more convenient across the country. With this approach, YES BANK has taken another step towards fulfilling its vision of satisfying customer needs in a convenient, harmonious way, especially in rural areas."

Commenting on the partnership, Sanjeev Moghe, EVP & Head- Cards & Payments, Axis Bank said, “We have been continuously working on innovations in the payments space to extend offerings that are low-cost payments acceptance solutions and a last-mile support for merchants. In this endeavour, we are delighted to partner with Visa for their first of its kind offline payments solution, which is a great opportunity for us to support micro-merchants in conducting their business smoothly."

"Lack of Internet connectivity have limited the democratization of digital payment acceptance in the country, as all existing payment technologies need real-time connectivity for authentication and authorization. Transaction failures arising from low quality connectivity impact consumer and merchant confidence, further impeding digital payment acceptance. Offline payments are a fast, reliable and low-cost way of solving this problem that can change the way payments happen. We are excited about partnering with Visa, Yes Bank and Axis Bank in this pilot,” said Rajeev Agrawal, MD & CEO, Innoviti Payment Solutions, India.

Nearly 70% of India’s rural population and 33% urban population is yet to adopt a digital mode of payment[2]. This necessitates driving greater inclusion, with offline payments as a feasible solution to connectivity issues. Aligned with this vision, Visa successfully conducted a pilot for offline payments across five villages in Karnataka in December 2020. The pilot was an extension to the RBI’s guidelines issued in August 2020 that allowed payments operators to launch pilot programs for small value offline payments.

About Visa Inc.

Visa is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network – enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device. As the world moves from analogue to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce.


[1] Retail Payment Habits in India – Apr’21

[2] IAMAI’s Internet Adoption in India Report for 2020 (Press Release)

The Advantages of Paying Online with Skrill

Online shopping is not a new trend in the business industry. Indeed, thanks to its many advantages, it’s becoming the norm in the shopping world. People can easily find the things they need, usually at a discount price. Like that’s not enough, shopping sites offer to deliver to your door for free or charge you a very small amount of money. Given the fact that people don’t have the time to spend hours shopping in a mall anymore, online shopping is like a rescue for their lives. They save money, time, and most importantly, they get the same product they would buy in any shop in the shopping mall.

The rise of online shopping brought to the fact that online sites need to offer more payment methods. To ensure a pleasant shopping experience, online sites give you the possibility to choose from a variety of payment methods. It has never been easier to place an order online and pay for it using an online payment method. PayPal was for a long time the only online payment options and its advantages no one can deny. However, a relatively new payment method also offers to pay online with excellent customer support.

About Skrill

Skrill was launched back in 2001. Its main goal was to simplify the procedure of online payment, as well as online money transfers. By the time, Skrill has revolutionized online payment, widening the number of services they provide customers with. Skrill is known for its fast processing of new transactions. Nowadays, Skrill has more than 120.000 users worldwide, which goes hand-in-hand with top payment methods, such as PayPal. To make online processing more efficient, Skrill connects your account with a MasterCard to make purchases with e-wallet easier for all users.
Entertainment Payment with Skrill

Skrill is becoming a popular online payment for casino services. Indeed, more and more casino sites accept Skrill as a payment method. In fact, the number of Indian casinos accepting Neteller payments is constantly growing. When it comes to online casino gaming, Skrill is a very efficient payment method because many countries worldwide accept it, it’s very convenient and processes payment in no time. It’s easy to use, it’s available at your fingertips and it’s a very safe payment method.

Things that the customers need the most when paying online are the possibility to have accounts in different currencies, credit and debit cards connected to the bank account, transferring money from a bank account online, and many others. A payment method that does pretty much all of these things, and much more than that, is Skrill. While the competition out there is very strong, Skrill is still a big contender in the online payment tools. 

Skrill Online Business Payments

Skrill is the option to go with when you need an account that is an all-in-one place where you can perform all different kinds of payment and money transfers. One of the advantages of Skrill is that it is a very international payment method, available in more than 200 countries. Skrill accounts can be both private and business accounts, according to the personal needs or the needs of your business company. Sending money to another account is completely free of charge. On top of that, Skrill sends directly the money to the receiver’s account for a very short amount of time. You can use both debit and credit cards to perform online payments.

Online Transfers

Transferring money to a bank account connected with an email address or a phone number has never been easier with Skrill. Those in need of buying and selling crypto will find Skrill a useful payment tool. Now, Skrill applications can be downloaded from the app store on any smartphone device, no matter whether it uses iOS or Android operating systems. It’s a very customer-friendly app that makes online payment a piece of cake for online buyers.