Razorpay and NPCI have initiated a pilot program called agentic payments on Claude, allowing transactions via Zomato, Swiggy, and Zepto through conversation.
Following this news, Razorpay in collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has rolled out an agentic payments pilot on Anthropic’s Claude. This initiative permits users to finalize purchases from food and grocery platforms during a chat session without needing to switch apps or repeatedly authorize payments.
Currently, this pilot is accessible to a select group of participants. It facilitates Claude in handling transactions on behalf of the user, integrating the entire purchasing process—from discovering products through to payment—within one conversation thread. This integration streamlines the transaction flow by eliminating the need for multiple app switches or repeated approval steps.
UPI Reserve Pay as the Payment Backbone
Based on the official press release, this system is built using UPI Reserve Pay, an NPCI infrastructure that enables users to set up a single spending limit per merchant. This setup allows for multiple transactions without needing additional PIN entries for each purchase. Users maintain control by having real-time transaction visibility, adjustable spending limits, and the ability to revoke consent anytime.
The technical architecture combines Razorpay’s payment infrastructure, NPCI’s UPI network, and Claude’s conversational abilities. A user can instruct Claude to place an order for food from Zomato or groceries from Zepto using natural language. The AI agent processes the request, shows options, and completes the transaction post confirmation—everything in one conversation.
India’s Payments Landscape as an Enabler
The existing payments infrastructure in India and its regulatory environment form a critical foundation for AI-driven commerce. UPI’s permission-based model offers the necessary technical groundwork to enable AI agents to conduct transactions on behalf of users under controlled conditions. Combined with established online shopping habits for food and groceries, the market sets favorable conditions for expanding agent-led commerce compared to other regions.
This launch builds upon an earlier collaboration announced at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2025, where Razorpay and NPCI partnered with OpenAI in a similar agentic payments effort. This move signals a broader strategic direction for the India-based payment company towards AI-integrated commerce infrastructure.
The current Claude pilot expands this approach by incorporating Anthropic’s platform as an additional AI integration. No details on a wider launch timeline have been provided.
