Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Conversational, offline and enhancement of limits for small transactions in the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) are some of the measures for payment systems that the Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das announced on Thursday.
Amid announcement of the decisions of the three day meeting of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Das said to harness new technologies and enhance the digital payments experience it is proposed to enable “Conversational Payments” on UPI, which will enable users to engage in conversation with artificial intelligence (AI) powered systems to make payments; introduce offline payments on UPI using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology through ‘UPI-Lite’ on-device wallet; and enhance the transaction limit for small value digital payments in off-line mode from Rs 200 to Rs 500 within the overall limit of Rs 2,000 per payment instrument.
“These initiatives will further deepen the reach and use of digital payments in the country,” he added.
According to RBI, the UPI has transformed the digital payment ecosystem in India. As AI is becoming increasingly integrated into the digital economy, conversational instructions hold immense potential in enhancing ease of use, and consequently reach, of the UPI system, it said.
“It is, therefore, proposed to launch an innovative payment mode viz ‘Conversational Payments’ on UPI, that will enable users to engage in a conversation with an AI-powered system to initiate and complete transactions in a safe and secure environment,” the RBI said.
This channel will be made available in both smartphones and feature phones-based UPI channels, thereby helping in the deepening of digital penetration in the country.
The facility will, initially, be available in Hindi and English and will subsequently be made available in more Indian languages.
