India launches pilot to enable e-commerce payments through ChatGPT
India’s National Payments Corporation (NPCI) and Razorpay have teamed up with OpenAI to launch a pilot program that enables AI-powered e-commerce payments directly within ChatGPT. The initiative leverages India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), allowing users to make purchases without leaving the chat platform.
The project represents the country’s first integration of agentic AI payments, where artificial intelligence systems can independently execute transactions on behalf of users. “With agentic payments, we’re transforming AI assistants from simple discovery tools into full-fledged shopping agents,” said Harshil Mathur, CEO of Razorpay.
The pilot will test how AI agents can securely manage user payment credentials to autonomously complete purchases using UPI’s new ‘reserve pay’ feature, which sets aside funds for designated merchants.
Axis Bank and Airtel Payments Bank are serving as banking partners, while Bigbasket, owned by Tata Group, has become the first e-commerce platform to enable ChatGPT-based shopping. OpenAI’s Oliver Jay said the partnership aims to combine “advanced AI with one of the world’s most trusted real-time payment networks.”
UPI currently processes over 20 billion monthly transactions, making it the backbone of India’s digital payment ecosystem. The pilot could pave the way for AI-driven commerce, transforming chatbots into autonomous retail platforms.