Key Takeaways
- India’s payments authority is building a registry to monitor AI agents making transactions.
- The registry will be part of the Unified Agentic Protocol and will initially cover UPI payments.
- This move follows similar efforts by other governments and tech companies to authenticate AI agents.
India’s payments authority, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is developing a registry to verify and monitor artificial intelligence (AI) agents making transactions on its homegrown payments network, according to sources involved in the discussions.
The registry, which will form part of the Unified Agentic Protocol, is aimed at vetting AI agents that make payments on behalf of users, ensuring their legitimacy and security.
NPCI is preparing to roll out agentic payments on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a widely used retail payment system in India. The registry will initially cover UPI payments and could later extend to cards, bill payments, and other payment methods.
Sources involved in the discussions stated that the registry will allow AI agents to make small, frequent digital payments without requiring users to approve each transaction, with groceries and other low-value purchases expected to be among the first applications.
The system could eventually enable agents to act on more complex instructions, such as buying products when discounts reach a specified level or making investments when prices cross set thresholds. However, liability for wrong or unauthorized payments will need to be addressed through regulation.
India’s efforts to develop this registry come as governments and payments companies in other countries are also working on similar systems. For instance, China’s Payment & Clearing Association has issued guidelines for AI-agent payments, covering identification, security, and risk controls.
The move by NPCI also follows heightened attention on rogue behavior by agents at leading AI firms such as OpenAI, Meta, and Anthropic. This underscores the need for robust regulatory frameworks to ensure the safe and ethical use of AI in financial transactions.
While NPCI did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the sources involved in the discussions emphasized the importance of this initiative in maintaining the integrity of India’s payment systems and protecting users from potential risks.
