India is preparing for a new phase of digital payments in which AI agents could make transactions for users, with the country’s payments authority working on a registry to verify and monitor these agents.
The registry is being developed as part of the National Payments Corporation of India’s planned Unified Agentic Protocol. 3 sources involved in the discussions said the system will initially vet AI agents that make payments on behalf of users through UPI. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak with media.
NPCI, which operates India’s retail payment systems, including UPI, is preparing to introduce agentic payments on the platform. The registry could later be expanded to cover cards, bill payments and other payment methods, according to 1 senior industry executive.
NPCI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move comes as governments and payment companies in other markets work on similar systems to identify and authenticate AI agents. China’s Payment & Clearing Association, an industry body overseen by the central bank, has issued guidelines covering identification, security and risk controls for AI-agent payments. Amazon, Google and Microsoft have also developed registries for agentic commerce.
The planned registry also comes amid growing concerns over rogue behaviour by AI agents developed by companies such as OpenAI, Meta and Anthropic.
Starting small
Agentic payments on UPI could initially support small and frequent digital transactions without requiring users to approve every payment. Groceries and other low-value purchases are expected to be among the first use cases.
The system could later support more complex instructions. These may include buying products when discounts reach a set level or making investments when prices cross specific thresholds, according to a second source.
AI agents would be indexed in the registry, but issues such as liability for incorrect or unauthorised payments would still need to be addressed through regulation, a third source said.
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