In a major step toward strengthening trust and transparency in India’s digital payments ecosystem, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has unveiled ‘UPI Help’, an AI-powered virtual assistant designed to simplify how users manage and resolve issues related to Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions.
The tool aims to make digital payments smoother by assisting users with real-time transaction queries, managing recurring payment mandates, and addressing complaints without relying on traditional customer support. NPCI’s move reflects an important shift—towards AI-led governance and customer empowerment—as India’s UPI network scales to record highs.
Real-time support For Everyday Users
UPI Help provides instant assistance for failed, pending, or delayed payments. Users can check transaction status or raise complaints directly through the assistant, reducing the waiting time typically associated with manual redressal.
The system connects with partner banks under NPCI’s UPI Dispute Resolution (UDIR) framework to accelerate processing. By automatically routing issues and tracking progress in real time, UPI Help promises faster complaint resolution and greater transparency for users, a key challenge in India’s otherwise seamless UPI experience.
Managing subscriptions and auto-pay mandates often confuses users juggling multiple payments across platforms. UPI Help simplifies this by displaying all active mandates across banks and apps in one interface, allowing users to pause, cancel, or monitor them directly.
The feature offers better visibility and control over digital subscriptions from OTT renewals to SIP investments—without switching between apps or portals. NPCI says this is part of its broader effort to enhance financial literacy and ease-of-use in everyday payments.
Refunds And Merchant Disputes
Another key feature is the system’s capability to handle merchant disputes and refunds. For payments made under the peer-to-merchant (P2M) scheme, users can report incomplete transactions and receive real-time updates on complaint status. UPI Help connects with the relevant bank, tracks settlement timelines, and delivers consistent updates—making the refund process traceable and reliable.
Currently in its pilot phase, UPI Help is accessible via participating banks, chatbots, and NPCI’s DigiSaathi portal. A wider rollout is expected in the coming months, with future integration into major UPI apps via API connectivity.
Commenting on the launch, Pavan Kumar, Chief - Product & Delivery Officer, NPST, said the introduction of UPI Help represents a milestone in user confidence and customer experience. “UPI Help marks an important step in strengthening user trust in digital payments. As transaction volumes continue to grow, a smooth and reliable grievance redressal framework is just as important as maintaining high transaction success rates,” Kumar said.
He added that the platform’s real-time dispute management reduces user anxiety while easing operational burdens on banks. “Over time, this unified system will further enhance customer experience and build a valuable data layer to identify fraud patterns and inefficiencies early,” he said.
Echoing the sentiment, Akash Sinha, CEO and Co-founder, Cashfree Payments, said that India’s digital payments landscape is moving from convenience to intelligent empathy. “With initiatives like UPI Help, we’re witnessing a shift from reactive support to intelligent assistance,” Sinha said. “This move will bring greater transparency, faster resolutions, and a more human approach to technology — signalling the rise of an empathetic, data-driven payments ecosystem that listens, learns, and leads with trust.”
Building Confidence In Everyday Payments
Bhavin Patel, Co-founder and CEO, Vartis Platforms, said that the initiative will significantly reduce uncertainty for users dealing with failed or delayed transactions.
“The introduction of UPI Help is a pivotal step in strengthening trust and transparency in India’s real-time payments ecosystem,” Patel said. “It effectively addresses long-standing pain points like unclear mandate status and limited grievance redressal options.”
He added that the system could also benefit P2P lending platforms, where trust in payments is vital. “This will encourage more users to transact digitally and reduce grievances for UPI transactions,” Patel noted.
The launch comes at a time when UPI continues to set new records. On Diwali, UPI transactions hit an all-time high of 754 million, worth Rs 1.02 lakh crore in a single day. The platform processed Rs 23.5 lakh crore across 16.58 billion transactions in October alone, up 13 per cent from September, reflecting deeper adoption across both urban and rural India.
According to Worldline’s India Digital Payments Report (H1 2025), UPI recorded 106.36 billion transactions in the first half of 2025—a 35 per cent rise year-on-year—with the total transaction value climbing to Rs 143.34 lakh crore.
As NPCI continues to innovate with AI integration, UPI Help could redefine how users experience financial reliability in real time not just making payments seamless, but also ensuring the system works instantly when something goes wrong. |
