Indian fintechs adopt agentic AI as digital payments grow

Indian fintech companies are increasingly adopting agentic AI to expand service offerings and improve operational margins. Major players including Paytm, Pine Labs, Cashfree Payments, Juspay, and Razorpay are deploying AI interfaces to automate merchant tasks such as managing abandoned carts, retrying failed payments, and processing refunds via plain-language instructions.

Pine Labs reported that approximately 90 per cent of its new code is now written using AI. Paytm executives noted that AI adoption is expected to accelerate operating leverage and improve efficiency in areas like customer service and call centers.

Parallel to these technological shifts, India has seen five years of steady growth in card payment values, driven by ecommerce expansion and increased financial inclusion. Government initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) have facilitated the issuance of over 410 million RuPay cards, bringing rural and low-income populations into the formal banking ecosystem. While debit cards remain dominant, the integration of credit cards with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is expected to boost utilization for higher-value transactions.