India’s payments system receives a major upgrade at the Global Fintech Fest 2026, introducing tap-to-pay capabilities, enhanced transaction controls, and multicurrency forex options, signalling a leap forward in digital financial infrastructure.
India’s payments system got a fresh set of features on Wednesday as Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra unveiled new products for Unified Payments Interface at the Global Fintech Fest 2026. The additions include a tap-to-pay function for point-of-sale terminals and a customer-support tool built on a small language model called Finance Model for India, or FiMI, according to the announcement.
The tap-to-pay option uses near-field communication, letting compatible smartphones and payment terminals complete transactions without mobile network connectivity. The feature works across several account types, including standard UPI accounts and RuPay credit cards on UPI. The National Payments Corporation of India said users can make PIN-less UPI payments of up to ₹5,000, with the UPI PIN required above that limit.
NPCI also introduced MyUPI, a single-window view of UPI transactions and Autopay mandates across banks and apps. The system adds user controls intended to improve payment safety, including a Safety Switch that allows customers to decline debit transactions if they suspect a compromise. It also gives users the option to delink their mobile number from receiving UPI payments, shows contextual information about merchants at checkout and supports automated chargeback processing for eligible transactions.
NPCI said biometric-authenticated payments, including face scans and fingerprints, have now crossed 6.29 billion transactions since their launch last year. In parallel, RBI Deputy Governor Rohit Jain announced multicurrency capabilities for forex transactions on Bharat Connect in a controlled user-group launch. NPCI said the service is intended to move beyond dollar-only offerings and will initially support the euro, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and UAE dirham through an integration between Bharat BillPay and FX-Retail, with a wider rollout planned after testing.
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