India is working on a new Unified Payments Interface (UPI) feature that could allow users to make payments even when both their smartphone and the merchant’s payment terminal are offline, which means people will soon be able to make payments without internet. Want to know more about it? Read on!
UPI Feature To Soon Be Offline With ₹2000 Limit
According to a Business Standard report, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is working on an offline NFC-based payment system that would let users tap their phones on certified point-of-sale (PoS) terminals to carry out transactions without an internet connection.
The proposed feature is anticipated to allow for payments of up to ₹2,000 and is targeted at locations with poor or no connectivity, such as aircraft cabins, underground metro networks and remote areas. NPCI is likely to begin verifying compatible PoS devices from leading manufacturers in 2026.
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To use the service, users will first need to load money into their UPI Lite wallet while being connected to the internet. Once the wallet is funded, they can make offline payments by simply tapping an NFC-enabled smartphone on a certified PoS terminal. The terminal will store the payment approval and process it once internet connectivity is restored. Since the transaction uses the UPI Lite balance, users will not need to enter a UPI PIN.
UPI Offline Will Enable Train & Flight Bookings
While NPCI introduced UPI Lite X in 2023 to enable offline payments between NFC-enabled phones and compatible QR codes or soundboxes, the proposed feature expands the capability to conventional PoS machines. Banks and third-party UPI app providers are also working to integrate the functionality into their applications, according to the report.
The reported ₹2,000 transaction limit differs from the Reserve Bank of India’s current offline payment rules. At present, the RBI allows general offline digital payments of up to ₹500 per transaction, while UPI Lite permits transactions up to ₹1,000, subject to wallet balance limits. NPCI has not yet released detailed operating guidelines explaining how the proposed offline PoS system will align with existing RBI regulations.
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UPI continues to dominate India’s digital payments ecosystem. According to NPCI, the platform processed 22.72 billion transactions worth ₹28.92 lakh crore in June 2026, highlighting the growing demand for faster and more flexible payment options.
Cover Image Courtesy: Website/NPCI