India's Payments Chief Says AI Will Reshape the Next Wave of Digital Payments

Dilip Asbe, India's payments chief, said AI will play a "heavily involved" role in the next era of digital payments. His focus is on newer UPI apps finding viable commercial models — not just moving money, but making money.

The UPI ecosystem, which processes billions of transactions monthly, has been growing fast but struggling with profitability. Asbe's comments suggest a shift toward apps that can monetize beyond transaction fees. That's a bigger deal than it sounds: if the next wave of payment apps actually makes money, it changes the whole industry.

Why this matters for us: As India works out the commercial side of digital payments, the playbook could be useful for other markets — and for how we think about payments in our own communities.