Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, while announcing the central bank's monetary policy committee has kept the repo rate unchanged, on Thursday said the central bank has proposed to use conversational payments on unified payments interface (UPI) through artificial intelligence (AI). Governor Das 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." In a report titled "Statement on Development and Regulatory Policies" released the monetary policy announcement, the RBI said, "As Artificial Intelligence (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." The central bank 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 conversational UPI payment facility will initially be available in Hindi and English, and will be made available in more Indian languages subsequently, the central bank said, adding, "Instructions to NPCI will be issued shortly." Moreover, the RBI, to promote the use of UPI-Lite launched in September 2022, proposed to facilitate offline transactions using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. "This feature will not only enable retail digital payments in situations where internet/telecom connectivity is weak or not available, it will also ensure speed, with minimal transaction declines. Instructions to NPCI will be issued shortly," the central bank stated. Near Field Communication is a technology that allows two devices — like a phone and a payment terminal — to talk to each other when they're placed close to each other. This technology enables contactless payments. The RBI today kept the repo rate unchanged, while it raised the FY24 inflation projection to 5.4 per cent. Das said that the headline inflation after reaching a low of 4.3 per cent in May 2023, rose in June and is expected to surge during July and August, led by vegetable prices.
