From UPI Growth to AI-Powered Security: Deepak Chand Thakur, Chairman and CEO, NPST on Safeguarding Digital Transactions

As India witnesses an unprecedented surge in digital payments—from 20.71 billion transactions in 2017-18 to a staggering 187.37 billion in 2023-24—the stakes in payment security have never been higher. In this exclusive interaction, Deepak Chand Thakur, Chairman and CEO of NPST, sheds light on how the company is navigating this dynamic landscape. With NPST processing 6% of the country’s UPI transactions and pioneering advanced solutions like the Risk Intelligence Decisioning Platform (RIDP), Thakur shares a data-driven perspective on combating fraud, scaling innovation, and building a secure digital ecosystem that empowers banks, aggregators, and end-users alike.

Some edited excerpts:

How does NPST position itself in the competitive payment security and technology landscape? What is your long-term vision for addressing digital payment fraud?
Financial fraud has always been a challenge in the payments industry, but the rise of real-time payments has taken it to a new level. To tackle this, we need proactive, real-time, and preventive measures. In India, we’ve seen incredible growth in digital payments, with transaction volumes skyrocketing from 20.71 billion in 2017-18 to 187.37 billion in 2023-24. But with this growth comes a surge in fraud risks, which banks and payment aggregators must manage.
Today’s key challenges include anticipating and preventing emerging fraud, reducing current losses, maintaining compliance with regulations, and enhancing the overall customer experience.

As a technology service provider to banks and payment aggregators, processing 6% of the country’s total UPI transactions, NPST plays a pivotal role in addressing these challenges. We collaborate with payment aggregators and banks on both the issuance and acquiring sides, to build robust, real-time anti-fraud solutions to safeguard the integrity of transactions.

Our strategic vision is anchored in our mission to deliver innovative digital payment solutions across the financial value chain. To achieve this, we are pioneering a ‘zero trust’ security framework powered by advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning. Moving beyond traditional rule-based fraud prevention, NPST is developing adaptive, intelligent systems capable of anticipating and neutralizing emerging digital threats in real-time.

We’re not just investing in technology – we’re investing in trust. Our commitment is to create a secure, seamless digital payment ecosystem that empowers banks, payment aggregators, merchants, and consumers alike, ensuring that the incredible momentum of India’s digital financial transformation is matched by world-class security infrastructure.

With the exponential growth of digital payments in India, what are NPST’s strategies to scale solutions like AI based Risk Monitoring Tool (Risk Intelligence Decisioning Platform – RIDP) while maintaining effectiveness and reliability?
Fraud prevention on the acquiring side is a critical focus area for NPST. Acquiring banks and payment aggregators play an essential role in processing real-time payments, acting as intermediaries between merchants and the financial network. Any errors or mismanagement in these processes can, however, expose all stakeholders to significant risks and potential financial losses.

While large acquirers often have access to sophisticated fraud risk management solutions, mid-sized and smaller acquirers as well as payment aggregators face significant challenges in mitigating merchant-side risks due to limited resources.

The challenges for smaller players often include high operational costs involved in manual fraud detection and prevention, limited ability to track and respond to suspicious activities in real-time, leading to missed opportunities for fraud detection, and financial and operational repercussions resulting from undetected fraudulent transactions.

NPST bridges this gap with our Risk Intelligence Decisioning Platform (RIDP), a real-time fraud management solution powered by AI and machine learning. RIDP empowers acquirers to monitor, manage, and track fraudulent transactions and merchant activities instantaneously. The key components of RIDP include merchant onboarding processes for due diligence and verification, chargeback fraud detection to identify fraudulent chargebacks proactively, real-time detection of transactional anomalies, and assigning dynamic risk scores to merchants based on their behaviour.

RIDP is seamlessly integrated into our Payments Platform as a Service (PPaaS) solution, Evok, which offers basic fraud prevention capabilities to all customers. Additionally, we provide RIDP-as-a-Service for acquirers seeking advanced and fraud prevention solutions. The approach enables acquirers of all sizes to deploy solutions that reduce operational and compliance costs by automating fraud detection processes. It enhances security through real-time fraud tracking and mitigation while safeguarding the integrity of financial transactions and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.

Beyond fraud prevention, how is NPST innovating to enhance the overall digital payment experience for banks, merchants, and end-users?
Acquiring is a high-scale business, but traditional hurdles like hefty capital expenses, technical complexity, and lengthy integration timelines often limit growth.

Our Payments Platform-as-a-Service (PPaaS) simplifies this landscape with two core solutions: Evok for online payment processing and Qynx for offline merchant acquiring. Built on an API-first, cloud-based model, PPaaS allows banks and aggregators to onboard and go live in just 6–8 weeks — dramatically faster than traditional systems. Plus, its pay-per-use or licensing model eliminates upfront costs, empowering businesses to scale flexibly with demand.

We go beyond transaction processing by offering a full suite of value-added services, including streamlined merchant onboarding, reconciliation, fraud prevention, and dispute management. These features enhance the payment journey for merchants and end-users alike, making the process efficient and secure.

By breaking down barriers, accelerating time-to-market, and delivering end-to-end payment solutions, NPST is paving the way for a frictionless, digital-first payment ecosystem that benefits everyone involved.

How does NPST collaborate with regulatory bodies like the RBI and NPCI to proactively address emerging risks and compliance requirements? Are there plans to forge partnerships with fintech companies, banks, or technology providers to expand the capabilities of platforms like RIDP?
At NPST, we take a proactive approach to compliance and risk management. We don’t see ourselves as just a technology service provider — we’re a strategic partner in India’s digital payment transformation. We ensure our systems are compliant with regulatory mandates to stay ahead of emerging risks and compliance requirements while supporting the broader goals of a secure and efficient payments ecosystem.

As UPI evolves from a simple payment system to a comprehensive digital ecosystem, the stakes have never been higher. Transaction volumes are soaring, and with this growth comes greater complexity and risk. We’ve built strong relationships with over 100 customers, many of whom rely on us to manage their entire payment operations. The engagement provides us with invaluable insights into the rapidly evolving digital payment landscape, helping us identify critical gaps and uncover opportunities for innovation in real-time.

One key area we’re excited about is evolving a system of shared intelligence among the customers we’ve onboarded. By leveraging collective insights and data, we can further strengthen our risk management mechanisms, making fraud detection more efficient and effective. This shared intelligence will help all participants in the ecosystem and unlock new monetization opportunities.

How does RIDP align with NPST’s overall business goals? What share of growth do you expect from fraud prevention solutions in the coming years?
RIDP is a core component of our Payments Platform-as-a-Service (PPaaS) suite, and its importance is growing in line with the increasing demand for risk and fraud prevention solutions.
Industry-wide, person-to-merchant transaction volumes are growing by over 100% year on year, and as a company, our growth trajectory has mirrored this trend.

As we scale, we’re focused on expanding our transaction volumes with the goal that every transaction processed through our platforms is secure. By integrating advanced, real-time risk checks directly into the transaction process, we’re not just preventing fraud — we are strengthening trust in digital financial systems.

Looking ahead, we’re dedicated to developing new use cases and continuously enhancing our fraud prevention capabilities. Our priority is to strengthen guardrails to ensure the digital payments ecosystem remains resilient, reliable, and future-ready

What role does research and development play in NPST’s strategy, and how much focus is given to AI, ML, and other emerging technologies?
At the start of this fiscal year, we launched NPST 2.0, marking a commitment to innovate, transform, and grow. This initiative reflects our mission to not just adapt to technological advancements but to lead them.

We have adopted a 60-30-10 model, dedicating 10% of every employee’s effort to exploring and advancing progressive technology frameworks. Additionally, we reinvest sufficient value of our revenues directly into new product development, with AI and machine learning (ML) as critical focus areas

Are there plans to introduce RIDP or similar solutions to global markets? How do fraud patterns in international markets compare to those in India?
India has leapfrogged to real-time payments, thanks in part to its large unbanked population. UPI dominates the country’s digital payments market, contributing an impressive 80% of total transactions. With less than 50% of Indians using digital payments, we’ve only scratched the surface. The opportunity underscores the immense potential for fraud prevention technologies in India, which will remain our primary market.

In contrast, while real-time payment solutions have been introduced in many countries, international markets face a more fragmented payments ecosystem with diverse rails and platforms. For example, card-based economies are often challenged by card-related fraud, while regions like Africa deal with mobile money fraud. These regional differences highlight the need for tailored risk management and compliance strategies, as fraud patterns and regulatory requirements vary widely across markets.

Within India, how does NPST tailor its strategy to address region-specific challenges in digital payments and fraud prevention?
In India, UPI fraud cases surged by 85% in FY24, reflecting the evolving landscape of digital payments across the country. At NPST, we take a region-agnostic approach, understanding that fraud is a universal challenge that impacts all areas, not just specific regions.

Beyond RIDP, what other innovative solutions are in NPST’s pipeline to tackle challenges in digital transactions and payment systems?
Beyond RIDP, NPST is committed to driving innovation across four key areas: Payment Switching, Digital Engagement, PPaaS, and RegTech. We’re witnessing two transformative trends that are reshaping the digital payments landscape. The first is embedded payments, where the future of every business is intrinsically tied to UPI, making UPI the backbone of every transaction.

This shift is more than just a technological advancement; it’s a complete reimagining of financial interactions, bringing greater accessibility and convenience to the payment ecosystem. The second exciting trend is the rise of credit via UPI.

In a consumption-driven economy like India’s, pre-approved credit lines are being seamlessly integrated into customers’ everyday transactional journeys. This innovation allows consumers to access credit on-demand, simplifying the borrowing experience and opening new doors for financial inclusion. With these developments, NPST is paving the way for a more seamless, inclusive, and secure digital payments ecosystem.

Where do you see NPST in the next 5-10 years in terms of its contribution to the digital payments landscape and financial security?

In the next 5-10 years, NPST envisions itself as a pivotal player in the digital payments landscape, significantly shaping the future of financial transactions and security. Our focus remains on building a solid business foundation with strong fundamentals, ensuring sustainable growth across multiple dimensions. We are committed to investing in the five critical capitals: Financial, Technology, People, Customer, and Brand.