The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced two new UPI features designed to make digital payments easier, faster and more secure. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra unveiled the services on September 10, marking another step in the evolution of India’s digital payments ecosystem.
The new features are UPI Tap and Pay, which enables contactless payments at NFC-enabled point-of-sale (POS) terminals, and MyUPI, an AI-powered customer support platform developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
According to NPCI, which operates the UPI network, the two services are aimed at improving the overall customer experience while giving users greater control and protection over their transactions.
UPI has become India’s leading digital payments platform and currently accounts for around 89% of the country’s digital transactions.
UPI Tap and Pay Could Take on Card Payments
The new UPI Tap and Pay facility is designed to provide a payment experience similar to using a contactless card at a retail terminal.
Users with an NFC-enabled smartphone can unlock their device and tap it against an NFC-compatible POS machine to initiate a UPI payment. One advantage of the feature is that the customer does not necessarily need mobile internet connectivity because the POS terminal can provide the required internet connection for processing the transaction.
The service supports different UPI-linked account types, including RuPay credit cards connected to UPI.
For transactions of up to Rs 5,000, users can make payments without entering their UPI PIN. If the transaction value exceeds Rs 5,000, authentication through the UPI PIN will be required on the POS terminal.
By bringing the familiar tap-to-pay experience of cards to UPI, the feature could strengthen UPI’s position in offline retail payments, particularly for higher-value purchases where cards have traditionally had an advantage.
The launch also follows NPCI’s efforts to make UPI authentication simpler. UPI Biometric Authentication, introduced at GFF 2025, is another initiative aimed at reducing friction during payments. NPCI said the combined number of biometric-authenticated UPI transactions had crossed 6.29 billion as of August 31, 2026.
MyUPI Brings AI Into UPI Customer Support
The second major announcement is MyUPI, an AI-driven platform intended to make it easier for customers to manage and resolve UPI-related issues.
MyUPI has been developed using NPCI’s Small Language Model, FiMI. The platform is designed to give users a consolidated view of their UPI transactions and AutoPay mandates across different banks and UPI applications.
Beyond customer assistance, MyUPI also introduces several features focused on transaction security and user control.
One of these is the Safety Switch, which allows customers to request that UPI debit transactions be declined if they believe their account or payment credentials may have been compromised.
Another feature, UPI Number Delink, allows users to remove their mobile number from being used to receive UPI payments.
More Information Before Making a UPI Payment
MyUPI will also provide users with additional details about beneficiaries before a transaction is completed. This could help customers verify payment recipients and reduce the risk of sending money to the wrong person.
The platform will further support automated chargeback processing for eligible transactions, potentially making the resolution of certain payment-related issues quicker.
Another useful feature is Transaction Replay, which allows users to find an earlier transaction and recall or repeat it through any UPI application.
NPCI said MyUPI is intended to operate as a broader trust and control layer for UPI, rather than functioning solely as a conventional customer-support service.
The platform will provide 24×7 multilingual assistance and self-service options, while also helping banks and UPI applications respond to customer queries more efficiently.
UPI Moves Beyond Simple Payments
The launch of Tap and Pay and MyUPI highlights how UPI is entering a new phase of development.
While UPI initially focused primarily on enabling quick account-to-account payments, newer initiatives are increasingly aimed at making the payment process more convenient while strengthening security, authentication and customer control.
With Tap and Pay, UPI is moving closer to the convenience traditionally associated with contactless card payments. Meanwhile, MyUPI brings AI-powered assistance, transaction visibility and additional safety controls into the UPI ecosystem.
Together, the two features signal a broader shift in India’s digital payments landscape—one focused not just on processing transactions, but also on making payments simpler, safer and easier to manage for everyday users.