RBI Unveils Tap-and-Pay UPI a Decade After Its Debut

Gist The Reserve Bank of India RBI , in collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India NPCI , has launched a 'tap and pay' facility for UPI transactions. Unveiled at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 , this feature allows users to make payments using RuPay credit cards without relying on Quick Response QR codes or One-Time Passwords OTPs . For civil services aspirants, this highlights the ongoing evolution of India's digital public infrastructure, shifting from internet-dependent QR codes to seamless, device-based biometric and offline payment architectures to combat financial fraud. Background Introduced in the aftermath of the 2016 demonetisation, the Unified Payments Interface UPI is operated by the National Payments Corporation of India NPCI , an umbrella organisation regulating retail payments and settlement systems in India. UPI has grown to dominate India's electronic payment ecosystem, currently accounting for approximately 85% of all digital transactions. Previously, UPI payments relied almost entirely on scanning QR codes or entering network-generated OTPs, both of which generally required active internet connectivity on the consumer's mobile device. As the scale of digital payments expanded, it…