UPI Tap & Pay allows users to make payments by unlocking an NFC-enabled smartphone and tapping it on an NFC-enabled point-of-sale (POS) terminal, instead of scanning a QR code.
The launch of UPI Tap & Pay and MyUPI at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 marks a shift in the payments ecosystem from simply enabling faster transactions to making the entire payment journey more seamless.
UPI Tap & Pay allows users to make payments by unlocking an NFC-enabled smartphone and tapping it on an NFC-enabled point-of-sale (POS) terminal, instead of scanning a QR code. The feature can also work without mobile internet on the user’s device, using the merchant terminal’s connectivity.
MyUPI, meanwhile, brings an AI-powered customer support layer to UPI. Built on NPCI’s small language model, FiMI, it is designed to help users with payment-related queries and issues, including transaction status, complaints and other support requirements.
For fintechs, the developments could mean that competition will increasingly move beyond payment processing and towards the quality of the overall customer and merchant experience.
“Every time UPI adds a new interface, whether that’s tap-to-pay hardware or an AI layer like MyUPI, the complexity doesn’t disappear; it just moves to the merchant’s side,” said Kunal Jhunjhunwala, founder of airpay. Merchants still need to reconcile transactions, identify failed payments and address customer concerns around refunds, he said.
Jhunjhunwala believes AI could absorb a significant part of this support burden, but only if it is integrated into the payment flow rather than added as a standalone chatbot.
The opportunity also extends beyond domestic payments. Taneia Bhardwaj, South Asia Expansion Lead at Wise, said UPI has “set a high bar” for a simple, real-time payment experience and that the next opportunity is to take that simplicity across borders.
For fintechs and merchants, this would mean supporting a wider mix of domestic and cross-border payment rails without adding friction to checkout or reconciliation. As AI and new interfaces become embedded in payments, Bhardwaj said the priority should remain reducing friction while retaining trust, transparency and customer control.
Published on September 11, 2026
