As it gets ready to implement autonomous "agentic payments" via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) intends to create a national AI registry to identify, screen, and verify AI agents, Reuters reported.
The register will be a component of the NPCI's proposed Unified Agentic Protocol, which will screen AI agents that handle user payments, the news agency said, citing sources.
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The register would first screen AI agents making UPI payments before expanding to include card payments, bill payments, and other payment methods, the report added.
India's efforts coincide with the development of comparable systems to identify and authenticate AI agents by governments and payment businesses worldwide.
Guidelines for AI-agent payments encompassing identification, security, and risk management have been released by China's Payment & Clearing Association, an industry organisation under the central bank's supervision.
Additionally, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have created agent registries for agentic commerce.
The NPCI's decision to create an agent registry coincides with increased focus on rogue conduct by agents at top AI companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Anthropic.
Groceries and other low-value purchases are anticipated to be among the first uses of agentic payments on UPI, which would enable AI agents to conduct small, frequent digital payments without requiring consumers to approve each transaction.
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According to the sources cited by Reuters, the technology may eventually enable agents to carry out more complicated instructions, such as making investments when prices surpass predetermined limits or purchasing goods when discounts reach a particular level.
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