One of the biggest announcements at the recent Global Fintech Fest in India was the reveal of a new pilot project that could change how we make payments. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has joined hands with Razorpay and OpenAI to bring UPI payments directly into ChatGPT.
How the UPI–ChatGPT Pilot Works
The idea is simple: instead of switching apps or websites, users will be able to shop and pay without ever leaving the chat window. In a live demo, a user uploaded a grocery list to ChatGPT and completed the purchase instantly through an e-commerce platform, powered by India’s UPI system.
The goal is to explore how AI agents can handle transactions securely and seamlessly on behalf of users — potentially making chat-based commerce a mainstream reality.
The Tech Behind It
Two key UPI features are making this possible:
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UPI Circle – Lets users authorize a digital agent (like ChatGPT) to make payments on their behalf, without entering a PIN each time.
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UPI Reserve Pay – A brand-new feature that allows users to whitelist merchants, set aside funds, and process payments without two-factor authentication (within preset limits).
Together, these systems aim to balance convenience with security, enabling frictionless AI-driven payments.
India vs Global Approach
This Indian pilot comes just weeks after OpenAI’s global rollout of agentic commerce, which relies on its own Instant Checkout system built around credit cards.
Observers have pointed out that while the concepts are similar — like authorized users or pre-approved merchant payments — India’s UPI-first model takes a very different approach compared to the credit card–based ecosystems dominant elsewhere.
The Bigger Picture: Agentic Commerce Protocol
Globally, OpenAI and Stripe are also working on the Agentic Commerce Protocol — an open standard for AI-driven transactions. However, this framework is being developed with traditional payment rails like credit cards in mind.
That raises an interesting question: how will India’s UPI, with its unique infrastructure and scale, align with these emerging global standards for AI payments?
