NPCI Reportedly Developing Offline UPI Tap-to-Pay Feature for Payments Up to ₹2,000
The proposed feature is designed to improve payment reliability in locations where mobile connectivity is weak or unavailable.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is reportedly developing an offline UPI tap-to-pay feature that will allow users to make merchant payments of up to ₹2,000 without an active internet connection, according to a Business Standard report.
The initiative aims to make digital payments more reliable in low-connectivity environments while further expanding the reach of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
The proposed feature is designed to improve payment reliability in locations where mobile connectivity is weak or unavailable, including aircraft during flights, underground metro stations, tunnels, rural areas, and other network-constrained environments where conventional UPI transactions often fail.
The system is expected to leverage Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, allowing customers to simply tap their NFC-enabled smartphones on compatible NFC-enabled point-of-sale (POS) terminals to complete payments. Instead of relying on real-time internet connectivity, payment credentials would be securely exchanged through NFC, with transaction reconciliation and settlement taking place once the device reconnects to the internet.
The feature is expected to build on UPI Lite X, introduced by NPCI in September 2023, which enables small-value offline UPI transactions using NFC technology. While UPI Lite X already supports offline peer-to-peer and merchant payments on compatible devices, the proposed enhancement is expected to offer a more seamless tap-to-pay experience for retail transactions at merchant outlets.
The reported ₹2,000 transaction cap is in line with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) framework for offline digital payments, which permits low-value transactions without real-time online authentication while imposing limits to enhance security. Under the RBI’s guidelines, offline transactions are also subject to cumulative limits until the device reconnects online and synchronises transaction data.
If introduced, the offline tap-to-pay capability would represent another milestone in the evolution of India’s digital payments ecosystem. By enabling secure NFC-based UPI transactions even when internet connectivity is unavailable, the feature could significantly improve payment reliability for commuters, travellers, and consumers in remote areas while reducing dependence on uninterrupted mobile networks.
The reported development comes as UPI continues to expand beyond traditional QR-code payments. Over the past few years, NPCI has introduced innovations such as UPI Lite, UPI Lite X, UPI Circle, credit lines on UPI, and international UPI acceptance, as part of its broader strategy to make digital payments faster, more accessible, and resilient across a wider range of use cases.
NPCI has not yet made an official announcement regarding the offline tap-to-pay feature or disclosed a timeline for its rollout. If launched, the service is expected to be available on supported NFC-enabled smartphones and compatible merchant terminals.