NPCI Expands Beyond Payments With AI, Blockchain-Focused Subsidiary

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has established a wholly owned subsidiary, NPCI Tech Solutions Ltd (NTSL), to expand its reach into AI, blockchain, and digital financial infrastructure. Vishal Kanvaty, a long-time NPCI employee, has been appointed as the MD and CEO of the new subsidiary. NTSL will function as the group's technology and innovation arm, overseeing global capability centre (GCC) services and technology support for various digital public infrastructure (DPI) programs.

The subsidiary's leader has been involved in developing several platforms that now align with NTSL's focus areas. NPCI Chairman Dilip Asbe highlighted that the formation of NTSL aims to leverage advances in AI and other emerging technologies to expand digital infrastructure and financial services. The subsidiary's financials and timelines for service rollouts have not been disclosed.

NPCI's commitment to emerging technologies is evident through recent initiatives like AiNxt and AtOM, platforms designed to assist enterprises in building AI agents and automating workflows. Additionally, NPCI has partnered with IISc on a multi-year research collaboration focusing on AI and blockchain. The new technology division joins NPCI's existing subsidiaries, including those focused on international payments, bill payments, and BHIM.

NPCI's flagship payments network, UPI, has seen significant growth, processing a record 25.47 billion transactions in October, marking a 5.8% month-over-month increase. Transaction value saw a 7.4% rise to ₹31.53 lakh crore, with the average daily transaction value exceeding ₹1 lakh crore for the first time. NPCI has postponed the introduction of merchant discount rate (MDR) charges on select UPI payments until after Diwali, with the revised implementation date yet to be announced.