UPI payments without internet to launch soon: Here’s how it is expected to work
Last Updated: 2026-07-22 11:18:32
India could soon get a UPI feature that lets people make payments without needing an active internet connection, according to a Business Standard report citing three people familiar with the matter. The feature is aimed at enabling digital payments in areas with poor or no network coverage.
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UPI payments without internet to launch soon.- Uses NFC technology; no internet needed for transactions.
- Aimed at areas with poor network coverage.
How it’s expected to work
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According to the report, neither the customer’s phone nor the merchant’s point-of-sale terminal would need internet access for these transactions to go through. The National Payments Corporation of India is expected to begin certifying compatible PoS terminals for offline payments later this year.
The feature is reportedly built around NFC technology. Once live, users would be able to make payments simply by tapping their NFC-enabled smartphone on a supported terminal. Initial transactions are expected to be capped at Rs 2,000 each.
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This could prove useful for payments in remote areas, on flights, or in underground metro stations where network connectivity is often patchy.
The offline system is expected to run through an on-device UPI Lite wallet. Users would likely need to load money into this wallet while online, after which they could make payments at supported offline terminals without needing internet access or entering a UPI PIN. These transactions would draw from the UPI Lite balance directly.
Point-of-sale companies will need certification from NPCI before they can accept UPI payments offline. A person from a fintech firm quoted in the report said, “PoS companies will need a certification from NPCI to accept UPI in an offline setting. They can create an application on top of it after they get certified.”
Once certified, merchant PoS companies would be able to build their own applications and services on top of the platform to support tap-to-pay functionality.