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A leading payments industry news source for more than 17 years. Glenbrook curates the news and keeps you abreast of the important daily headlines in payments.
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February 6, 2026
On the web
UPI New Rules From February: Key Changes for Google Pay, PhonePe & Paytm Users
ABP Live
"New rules for the UPI are set to take effect from February 2026, bringing significant changes to transaction speed, verification standards and user protections. Regulators have focused on improving real-time processing, tightening security controls and enhancing transparency for users who rely on UPI for everyday digital payments. The updated framework aims to make digital transactions faster and safer while giving users greater control over their payment activity across popular UPI apps."
PhonePe Takes Its Diversification to Dalal Street
The Economic Times
"For most users, PhonePe remains a payments app. As the Walmart-backed fintech prepares for a public listing, its UDRHP filed last month outlines a company that is expanding beyond payments, using UPI primarily as a distribution layer rather than a revenue engine. More notably, growth is increasingly being driven by businesses that sit on top of payments: merchant services, lending, insurance distribution, and newer platform bets, rather than UPI itself."
India Weighing up to 25,000 Rupee Compensation for Digital‑Payment Frauds, RBI Governor Says
Yahoo Finance
"The Reserve Bank of India will propose a framework to compensate customers up to 25,000 rupees ($276) for losses incurred in small-value fraudulent transactions, Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Friday. This was among a series of steps announced by the RBI to enhance customer protection and increase digital payments safety. The draft guidelines will be issued shortly, the governor said in his monetary policy address."
January 28, 2026
Top Post
UPI To Debut In Japan As India’s Digital Payments Network Expands Global Footprint [Video]
YouTube
"India’s Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, is set to debut in Japan, marking a significant step in the global expansion of India’s flagship digital payments platform. Japanese IT services firm NTT Data has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India to enable UPI acceptance in Japan on a trial basis during fiscal 2026, initially targeting Indian tourists visiting the country."
January 21, 2026
On the web
Apple Pay Inches Closer to India, but Full Launch Still Some Distance Away
The Times of India
"Apple is in discussions with Indian regulators and banking partners to explore the introduction of Apple Pay in the country, with timelines likely extending into 2026. While speculation about an imminent launch has grown in recent weeks, people familiar with the matter caution that Apple Pay is not yet available for everyday domestic transactions in India. At present, Apple Pay’s presence in India is limited to cross border payments."
January 20, 2026
On the wires
Walmart-Backed PhonePe Gets SEBI Approval for India IPO
Reuters
"Walmart-backed Indian payments firm PhonePe has received regulatory approval for its stock market listing from the market regulator after confidentially filing for an initial public offering in September, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday."
January 19, 2026
On the web
India, China, South Africa, Other BRICS Nations to Explore Digital Currency Link to Crush Dollar
Business Insider Africa
"India has proposed that BRICS nations explore linking their official digital currencies to simplify cross-border trade and tourism payments, a move that could gradually reduce reliance on the US dollar as geopolitical tensions intensify."
Cash Payments To Be Banned At Toll Plazas From April 1? [India]
NDTV
"India's highway travel is on the cusp of a digital transformation. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is set to implement a ban on cash payments at national highway toll plazas from April 1. Commuters will be required to use either FASTag or UPI to pay tolls, aiming to reduce congestion and streamline travel."
January 2, 2026
On the web
RBI Sees Stablecoins As Threat, Pushes CBDC Vision (India)
Cointribune
"While stablecoins reach $307 billion in 2025, India adopts a radically opposite stance. The Indian central bank (RBI) rejects stablecoins and defends its own digital currency, the CBDC. According to the RBI, only CBDCs guarantee financial stability, confidence in currency, and monetary sovereignty. The institution warns of systemic risks that stablecoins could cause, especially during periods of economic stress."
December 17, 2025
On the web
Google Pay Enters RuPay-UPI Credit Card Space With Axis Bank Partnership
Storyboard18
"Popular UPI payments app Google Pay has launched a co-branded credit card in partnership with Axis Bank on the RuPay network, enabling users to link the card directly to their UPI accounts for merchant payments. A key differentiator of the card is its instant rewards mechanism, which allows users to earn cashbacks or rewards in real time and redeem them on their very next transaction."
December 9, 2025
On the web
UPI Accounts for Nearly Half of Global Instant Payments
IBS Intelligence
"The International Monetary Fund’s recognition of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as the largest retail fast-payment system globally has reinforced the country’s position as a leader in real-time digital transactions. UPI now accounts for nearly half of instant payments worldwide, underscoring the scale, interoperability, and accessibility that the platform has achieved over the past seven years."
December 3, 2025
On the web
PhonePe Integrates ChatGPT Into UPI App
Startupro News
"PhonePe announced a pioneering collaboration with OpenAI to embed ChatGPT-powered AI features directly into its UPI app ecosystem, marking a major step in integrating generative AI into India’s digital payment landscape. This partnership will enable users to access AI-driven assistance across PhonePe’s consumer and business offerings, allowing for interactions related to payments, product research, travel planning, and merchant discovery all within the app."
November 26, 2025
On the web
BHIM Launches UPI Circle Full Delegation, Allowing Senior Citizens, Young Adults to Make Payments Independently Within Set Limits
The Economic Times
"The NPCI BHIM Services Limited on Tuesday announced the introduction of UPI Circle Full Delegation on the BHIM Payments App, allowing primary users to authorise their trusted contacts to make UPI payments on their behalf of up to Rs 15,000. The move is expected to be a game-changer for senior citizens who have their own bank accounts but often hesitate from making digital payments and young adults who can manage their daily or educational expenses with safe, parent-controlled access."
November 13, 2025
On the web
ChatGPT Joins PhonePe: AI To Transform UPI Payments Across India
Patna Press
"In a major leap for India’s fintech sector, PhonePe has announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI, aiming to integrate ChatGPT-powered AI features into its digital payments app. The move marks the beginning of a new era where artificial intelligence meets everyday transactions, making UPI interactions smarter, faster, and more conversational. Through this collaboration, users will be able to access AI-driven suggestions and assistance directly within the app."
November 10, 2025
On the web
Paytm Unveils All-New App With AI Features to Enhance Payment Experience
Business Standard
"Paytm, India's full-stack merchant payments leader, has launched a redesigned version of its flagship app, integrating artificial intelligence-driven features to personalise everyday transactions for its users. The update introduces a cleaner user interface alongside over 15 new features. One of the standout innovations is the launch of "Gold Coins," a first-of-its-kind initiative that rewards users with digital gold on every payment, adding a valuable savings dimension to regular transactions."
November 7, 2025
On the web
RuPay Emerges as India’s Preferred Credit Card Network - All Thanks to UPI Integration
MSN
"Analysts said, RuPay has recently gained momentum in the credit-card ecosystem due to the availability of credit cards on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform. They said that currently, RuPay's share in the credit-card market is around 16 per cent as against about 3 percent two years ago, they added. In late 2022, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had given the approval to link RuPay credit-cards only to UPI."
November 5, 2025
On the web
OpenAI's ChatGPT Go Now Free in India: Users Fume as UPI Payments Fail During Free Plan Rollout
The Economic Times
"OpenAI is offering ChatGPT Go free for 12 months to users in India starting November 4, 2025. The company announced that anyone who signs up during this limited-time promotional period will receive free access to the otherwise paid plan. But OpenAI's AI chatbot ChatGPT is once again facing glitches with UPI payments, second in recent months. Many users of AI chatbot complained they have experienced payment issues with the UPI option."
November 3, 2025
On the web
PhonePe Rolls Out ‘PhonePe Protect’ to Safeguard Users From Fraudulent Transactions
ITVoice
"PhonePe has rolled-out ‘PhonePe Protect’– a security framework designed to safeguard users from fraudulent transactions. The feature also offers insights into the risks involved when transactions are declined for security reasons. ‘PhonePe Protect’ incorporates a mechanism to identify and block transactions directed toward mobile numbers that are flagged as suspicious by The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) through their ‘Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)’ feature."
October 14, 2025
On the web
OpenAI Partners With India’s Payment Authority to Bring UPI to ChatGPT
The American Bazaar
"India’s payment authority National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and fintech firm Razorpay have collaborated with OpenAI to launch AI-driven payments on ChatGPT. This initiative, which is in its pilot state, will enable people to make payments on ChatGPT via India’s homegrown payments network Unified Payments Interface (UPI)."
On the wires
EnKash Unveils India's First Unified Corporate Card Ecosystem for Businesses
PR Newswire
"EnKash, India's leading full-stack business payments and spend management platform, announced the launch of its Corporate Card Ecosystem. With this launch, EnKash introduces a unified ecosystem that integrates seamlessly with the company's broader product suite, including its award-winning Expense Management System, Corporate Cards, and UPI-based wallets for petty cash management solutions. Together, these create a completely new way for businesses to manage, track, and reconcile spends."
October 13, 2025
On the web
PhonePe PG, RuPay, and JioHotstar Collaborate to Simplify Subscription Payments with UPI AutoPay
Your Story
"At the Global Fintech Fest 2025, PhonePe Payment Gateway (PhonePe PG) unveiled its Subscription IQ, powered by UPI AutoPay on RuPay Credit Cards, in collaboration with JioHotstar. This initiative allows customers to set up UPI AutoPay mandates via RuPay Credit Cards, providing a seamless and reliable way to manage recurring subscription payments."
October 9, 2025
On the wires
India Rolls Out Pilot for E-commerce Payments via ChatGPT
Reuters
"India's payments authority National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and fintech firm Razorpay have collaborated with Microsoft-backed OpenAI to launch AI-driven payments on ChatGPT. The initiative, currently in the pilot stage, will allow users to make purchases on ChatGPT, facilitated by India's homegrown payments network Unified Payments Interface (UPI)."
October 8, 2025
On the web
NPCI Piloting Agentic AI-Based Payments With UPI
Inc42 Media
"The National Payments Corporation of India is piloting an agentic AI framework for UPI, marking the next phase of what it calls “intelligent commerce”. The payments body showcased a live demo of the offering at the Global Fintech Fest 2025 today. The on-stage presentation featured Gemini, BigBasket, Google Pay, and Razorpay as partners. It opened with a simple use case – an AI assistant helping a user recreate a food recipe."
PhonePe, Mastercard Partner to Launch Device Tokenization
Tech In Asia
"PhonePe has partnered with Mastercard to launch device tokenization for its payments gateway, aiming to boost security for online transactions. PhonePe, an India-based digital payments platform, said the new feature allows customers to save their card details once on the PhonePe app and use them across multiple merchants without reentering information. The device tokenization initiative leverages Mastercard’s network tokenization technology and aligns with recent Reserve Bank of India regulations allowing alternative authentication methods."
On the wires
India to Roll Out Biometric Authentication for Instant Digital Payments
Reuters
"India will allow users to approve payments made through popular domestic payments network, the Unified Payments Interface, using facial recognition and fingerprints starting October 8. Authentications will be done using biometric data stored under the Government of India's unique identification system - Aadhar."
October 7, 2025
On the web
PhonePe Launches Next-Gen SmartSpeaker With Integrated Card Payments
PhonePe has launched its new SmartPOD, a device merging POS and smart speaker
functions, enabling small merchants to accept both UPI and card payments. Designed
in India, it supports major card networks and offers features like dual displays and
celebrity voice confirmations. This move aims to boost digital payment adoption for
businesses of all sizes across India.
NTT DATA: Signs MoU with NPCI International Payments Limited for UPI Payment Acceptance Across Merchants in Japan
MarketScreener
"NTT DATA announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NPCI International Payments Limited, a subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The MoU establishes the foundation to enable acceptance of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India's leading real-time payment system for Indian tourists in Japan."
UPI Fraud Clampdown: NPCI to End P2P Collect Requests From October 1; Banks, Apps Told to Block Pull Transactions Permanently
The Times of India
"National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has directed banks and payment apps to stop all peer to peer (P2P) ‘collect requests’ on UPI from October 1, 2025, in an effort to curb financial fraud. The move means that all banks and UPI apps — including PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm — will no longer be able to initiate, route, or process P2P collect transactions after the deadline."
On the wires
PayPal CEO: India’s UPI Is Its Platform’s First Onboard Payments System Partner
Reuters
"The operator of India's popular unified payments interface (UPI) is the first payments system partner onboarded on PayPal's platform PayPal World, CEO Alex Chriss said on Tuesday."
October 1, 2025
On the web
AI-Trained Payments Fraud Detection System Under Works, RBI Says
NDTV Profit
"The Reserve Bank of India is developing an artificial intelligence-trained fraud detection system to alert bank account holders about potential risky transactions to curb fraud. "It is in an experimental stage. We are making the software," Governor Sanjay Malhotra said in a press conference after the Monetary Policy Committee on Wednesday. The RBI's under-development 'Digital Payments Intelligence System' will be run by an entity, which will collect data from various sources to trace mule accounts and flag risks to both customers and banks, Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar explained."
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