The next phase of growth for India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will come from frictionless biometric authentication and conversational ‘chat and pay’ journeys, according to a report by Worldline, a global payment services provider. The report highlighted that UPI’s next wave of expansion is already visible, with global corridors such as Singapore and the UAE expanding UPI’s reach beyond India.
Chat-based conversational payment paths and UPI Autopay will make intra-app transactions more seamless, while biometric authentication pilots are expected to redefine the user experience and expand adoption across demographics. It stated: “The next chapter will see major advances: frictionless biometric authentication and conversational ‘chat and pay’ journeys, and the adoption of embedded financial use cases that bring recurring payments and global corridors to mainstream audiences.”
According to the report, these developments will help bring recurring payments and cross-border transactions into the mainstream. India’s UPI ecosystem is powered by two primary flows: peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers and peer-to-merchant (P2M) payments. During the first half (1H) of 2025, P2P transactions grew 31 percent to 39.35 billion, while P2M transactions increased 37 percent to 67.01 billion.
This shift toward merchant payments reflects how industries such as groceries, pharmacies, food and beverages, and utilities have normalized QR-based payments. While this has led to smaller average transaction sizes, it has significantly increased UPI’s overall reach.
The report also pointed out that the next set of growth drivers will include credits on the UPI and small EMIs. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) are driving innovation to these segments to encourage higher value transactions within the P2M flow while maintaining high transaction volumes.
“India’s strength lies in frequency, not size; every micro payment creates a macro shift,” the report said, highlighting how recurring small payments drive large-scale adoption. Moreover, the ecosystem continues to evolve as cards redefine themselves for premium use, and platforms like FASTag and Bharat Connect create invisible payment rails for everyday life.
The report concluded that the first half of 2025 was a significant milestone for India’s digital payments ecosystem, strengthening the country’s position as a global leader in scale, innovation and financial inclusion. With changing consumer habits, increasing merchant adoption and proactive regulatory support, India’s digital payments landscape is becoming more versatile, secure and inclusive than ever before.
Published on October 30, 2025
#phase #UPI #growth #frictionless #biometric #chatbased #payments #report