UPI no challenge to Mastercard, has expanded digital payments: Exec

Mastercard sees the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as a complement rather than a competitor, with the homegrown payment system helping expand India's digital payments ecosystem, ANI reported on Thursday, citing the company's India head Gautam Aggarwal.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 3rd India International FinTech Festival 2026 organised by ASSOCHAM, Aggarwal said UPI has helped educate consumers about digital payments and expanded the overall market.

"We don't see it as a challenge. We, in many ways, see it as complementary," Aggarwal said.


He said UPI and other national payment systems have helped consumers understand the benefits of digital payments, allowing the market to become a "much bigger playground".

"So, for us, UPI has been that enabler that I think we couldn't have been as big without," he said, as cited by ANI.

Aggarwal said India has the world's largest digital payments ecosystem in absolute terms, but there remains considerable scope for further adoption.

"While we like to talk about the fact that India is the world's largest digital payments ecosystem today, in absolute terms we are, but in terms of relative penetration of what is in the country still available, we still have a long way to go," he said.

On cybersecurity, Aggarwal said Mastercard has invested in the segment for nearly three decades and has stepped up investments as digital payments have grown rapidly.

The company has accelerated its efforts through acquisitions and in-house innovation, while focusing on ensuring that stronger security does not compromise convenience for users, the report said.

"We're making sure that when we are innovating in this space, we are not doing it in a way that creates friction because what's important in today's world is convenience, friction and security is all balanced," Aggarwal said.

He also praised India's digital payments regulatory framework, calling it among the best globally. However, he stressed that continued consumer awareness and education around safe digital payment practices and fraud prevention would be crucial to maintaining trust as digital payments expand, the report added.