Quick Take
- BharatPe, PhonePe and Pine Labs launched agentic AI and cardless payment tools on GFF 2026 Day 1.
- NPCI’s new Android ATMs issue RuPay cards and QR codes in minutes, and nine lenders are trialling them.
- PhonePe and Visa took cardless payments to 14 overseas markets, a first for an Indian app.
India’s largest payments companies used the Global Fintech Fest 2026 to launch agentic AI tools and cardless payment products.
The Global Fintech Fest 2026 runs from September 8 to 11 at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai. It is the seventh edition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened it.
The launches sit on a large base. NPCI data shows UPI processed 24.51 billion transactions in August 2026, worth Rs 29.82 lakh crore. That was up 22% from a year earlier.
Which fintechs launched new products at GFF 2026?
BharatPe, PhonePe, Pine Labs, Amazon Pay and Yubi all launched new products on the first day of GFF 2026.
BharatPe launched an agentic AI platform for merchants, built on Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. The assistant works across more than 60 live systems in real time, in the merchant’s own language.
BharatPe also launched Credit Coach. It uses AI videos fronted by a digital avatar of former cricketer Rohit Sharma.
PhonePe and Visa launched three cardless payment tools at GFF 2026. Tap to Pay lets Android users tokenise Visa cards and pay by tapping their phones. Cross Border Scan to Pay reaches 14 overseas markets, a first for an Indian app.
Their third tool, Smart Accept, lets small merchants take card payments on a phone. No separate card machine is needed.
Pine Labs launched an agentic commerce stack with L&T Finance on the PLANET app. AI agents can complete a purchase within limits the user sets. The first use case is booking flight tickets.
Amazon Pay launched a co-branded credit card with Kotak Mahindra Bank. It is aimed at small sellers on Amazon Business.
Yubi launched Pye, a lending platform for retail borrowers. It also rolled out a credit-health app called TopScore in 10 languages.
| Company | What launched | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| BharatPe | Agentic AI platform for merchants | Works across 60+ live systems |
| PhonePe + Visa | Tap to Pay, Cross Border Scan to Pay, Smart Accept | Cross-border QR in 14 markets |
| Pine Labs | Agentic commerce stack on PLANET app | Built with L&T Finance; flights first |
| Amazon Pay | Co-branded credit card | With Kotak Mahindra Bank, for Amazon Business sellers |
| Yubi | Pye lending platform and TopScore | Credit-health app in 10 languages |
| Perfios | Agentic AI operating system | Shown to PM Modi; rural, MSME, youth credit |
| NPCI | Android ATMs and AiNxt AI stack | RuPay cards and QR in minutes |
What did NPCI launch at GFF 2026?
NPCI and the Department of Financial Services launched Android ATMs, wider UPI credit and an enterprise AI stack at GFF 2026 on September 9, 2026.
The Android ATMs issue RuPay cards and merchant UPI QR codes on the spot. They cut onboarding from weeks to minutes. Nine lenders are trialling them, including State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.
The government also widened Credit Line on UPI. It now covers borrowers under schemes such as MUDRA. Sanjay Lohiya, the DFS Secretary, led the launch.
NPCI also unveiled an enterprise AI stack called AiNxt. It has four parts: AiNxt OS, AiNxt Code, AiNxt CLI and AiNxt Enterprise. A separate tool, AtOM, automates partner onboarding across UPI.
Why does agentic AI dominate GFF 2026?
Agentic AI is one of three official themes at GFF 2026, alongside tokenisation and quantum technology.
The theme this year is ‘Potential to Impact’. Agentic AI means software that can act on its own within set limits. In payments, an AI agent can complete a transaction for you.
Perfios showed the shift clearly. It was one of six firms picked to present AI to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Perfios unveiled what it calls India’s first agentic AI operating system for credit.
One piece is still awaited. Reuters reports NPCI is expected to unveil a Unified Agent Protocol at GFF 2026. It would let AI agents make small UPI payments without approving each one.
What this means for you: If you run a shop or a small lending business, test these agentic tools early, because your larger rivals are already onboarding them.
StartupFeed Insight
GFF 2025 was full of AI demos. GFF 2026 is different. The launches this week put agentic AI inside apps that real merchants and borrowers will use. That is the real story, not the slideware. The winners will be the firms that solve one boring problem: who pays when an AI agent makes a mistake. NPCI’s coming Unified Agent Protocol is the first attempt at that answer. Expect at least three banks to run live agentic UPI pilots under it before March 31, 2027. The rest of 2026 will be about trust, not features.
— Harshvardhan Kothari, Technology and Policy Correspondent
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