NPCI Chief Eyes AI for Next Wave of Indian Digital Payments

Speaking at Mumbai Tech Week 2026, Asbe outlined a roadmap where AI serves as the primary engine for scaling infrastructure. Beyond simple transaction processing, the focus lies on deploying voice-based interfaces and multilingual solutions to lower barriers for onboarding. While the NPCI introduced a voice assistant in 2023, adoption remains in the early stages, waiting for the necessary breakthroughs in model accuracy.

Scaling Finance Through Small Language Models

Asbe advocates for the development of localized small language models tailored to the Indian financial ecosystem. By leveraging the country's unique data sets, he believes banks and fintechs can build deterministic tools that outperform generic global models. This strategy is already seeing real-world application through FIMI, an NPCI-backed system designed to resolve user disputes, which is currently handling over a million mandates.

Regarding the competitive landscape, the regulator maintains its intent to cap market dominance. With PhonePe and Google Pay currently controlling over 80% of transactions, the 30% market share cap—slated for December 31, 2026—remains a critical pressure point. Asbe argues that the current concentration is less about lack of choice and more about the absence of viable commercial models for new entrants. He expects that as the regulatory framework matures and AI-driven efficiency lowers costs, fresh investment will naturally diversify the market beyond the existing duopoly.