Like every year, the Global Fintech Festival (GFF) is serving as a key platform for fintech companies to unveil their newest innovations. Up until now, we have seen multiple new-age tech companies, including Amazon Pay, fintech unicorn BharatPe, IPO-bound PhonePe, among others, launch new products during the annual event.

Leading the innovations from the front was the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which introduced key features within UPI on the first day of the event. These included UPI Lite-led transactions via smart glasses, on-device biometric authentication, micro ATMs, among others.

While a host of new-age tech innovations pertaining to digital payments have come to the fore, here are the most prominent launches that caught our attention.

Amazon Pay Launches UPI Circle

Amazon’s digital payment arm Amazon Pay became the latest player to launch UPI Circle with Amazon Pay UPI Circle. The product will allow primary users to manage payments on behalf of family members and trusted contacts.

In this, multiple users would have their own UPI IDs or QR code, but won’t need to operate bank accounts. Instead, they can get access to fixed fund amounts approved by primary account holders.

In a statement, the company said that future upgrades in the feature will expand its functionality to include bill payments and subscriptions. Additionally, UPI Circle will also see Amazon Pay extend its rewards ecosystem to all family members. 

This made Amazon Pay the latest payments company to introduce this feature after PhonePe, Google Pay and BHIM. 

BharatPe Launches New PAPG, BharatPeX

BharatPe launched BharatPeX, its new payment aggregator and payment gateway (PAPG) online brand. In essence, the payment platform helps businesses accept and send money more conveniently across mediums. It lets them take payments through UPI, cards, or net banking directly inside their own app and also make payouts like refunds or vendor payments. 

BharatPeX comes with an AI-led service, BharatPeX.AI, that provides clients with 24/7 services through AI assistant, consistent guidance on features, eligibility, and go-live steps across BharatPeX, NPCI, and partner banks. 

PhonePe’s New SmartSpeaker 

UPI-leader PhonePe introduced its latest soundbox, SmartPOD, during the event. The new box  integrates card payments with UPI solutions for small merchants.

Manufactured in India, SmartPOD merges a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal and a SmartSpeaker, enabling merchants to accept both card and QR payments through a single device.

In a statement, the IPO-bound company said that the solution is designed to help small businesses overcome the challenge of limited access to affordable card acceptance options, which often leads to missed sales opportunities.

Besides, PhonePe also partnered with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank to introduce a new credit card, Wish Credit Card. The Wish Credit Card is linked to a Fixed Deposit (FD) starting from INR 2,000, which determines the credit limit while also earning interest for the user.

Revolut Enters India, To Roll Out Visa-Powered Card

Global fintech firm Revolut officially announced its India entry, with plans to onboard 2 Cr customers in India by 2030.

Revolut’s India play would see it offer a prepaid wallet that supports UPI transactions, allowing users to make instant payments directly from their bank accounts. Additionally, Revolut will offer both domestic and international VISA cards via its app.

Sharing details of Revolut’s India plans with Inc42 earlier this year, CEO Paroma Chatterjee said that the company’s strategy to penetrate the country’s fintech market would see it procure all the necessary licences and build products in-house rather than partnering with external partners.

Navi Introduces At-Scale Biometric Authentication For UPI

Navi UPI launched a biometric authentication and simplified onboarding for users at the GFF. 

With this launch, Navi claimed to have become the first UPI app in India to introduce biometric-based payments at scale, allowing users to authenticate transactions using their phone’s fingerprint or face recognition, without the need for PIN. 

The feature aims to reduce failed transactions, improve ease of use, and offer stronger protection against phishing and social engineering risks. Users can enable or disable biometric authentication anytime within the app.

TWID Unveils UPI App 

Rewards-based payment startup TWID announced the launch of its UPI App that allows users to make both online and offline purchases using their accumulated reward points from various banks, brands and loyalty programs 

Founded in 2020 by Amit Koshal, Amit Sharma and Rishi Batra, Bengaluru-based Twid offers customers a built a rewards-based payment network turning reward points into a fully fungible currency.

The startup claimed that its platform currently supports over 1 Lakh online and offline merchants—including leading names like Swiggy, JioMart, MakeMyTrip, BookMyShow, MyJio, Ixigo, ConfirmTKT, Vi, redBus, McDonald’s, Licious and more —and is connected to issuers with reward pool exceeding $2.3 Bn.

The startup has raised over $13 Mn from investors like Google, Rakuten Capital, ICMG Partners, JAFCO Asia, BEEENEXT, Surge (Peak XV), and January Capital.