Bank of India used Global FinTech Fest 2026 to showcase 12 digital banking initiatives covering UPI payments, programmable CBDC, cards, self-service banking, compliance, customer engagement and fintech partnerships. The portfolio reflects how traditional banks are expanding beyond mobile payments into programmable money, AI-enabled services and technology-led ecosystem integration.
Bank of India (BOI) showcased 12 technology initiatives at Global FinTech Fest 2026, spanning digital payments, programmable central bank digital currency (CBDC), credit cards, self-service banking, compliance and fintech collaboration.
The three-day event took place in Mumbai from September 9–11, although the broader GFF 2026 programme ran from September 8–11. The official event theme focused on trusted, connected financial systems, with agentic AI, tokenisation and quantum technology among its central themes.
For BOI, the showcase provides a snapshot of how established banks are approaching digital transformation: not through a single application, but through multiple layers of payment infrastructure, customer interfaces, automation and ecosystem partnerships.
The bank’s mobile-payment initiatives included UPI Help 2.0, which brings UPI transaction history, complaint management and mandate controls into its Omni Neo mobile application. A transaction replay capability also allows customers to re-initiate an earlier UPI transaction from the app when the BOI account is linked.
The development comes against a rapidly expanding UPI market. NPCI data shows that UPI processed 24.51 billion transactions worth ₹29.82 trillion in August 2026, across 752 live banks.
BOI also demonstrated UPI Tap & Pay, enabling customers to make contactless UPI payments using an NFC-enabled smartphone at supported point-of-sale terminals. According to the bank, the feature is designed for transactions below ₹5,000, with customers able to configure Omni Neo as their default application for Tap & Pay.
Another mobile-banking initiative, the Unified Ticketing Platform, integrates interoperable QR-based ticketing capabilities developed by NPCI Bharat BillPay with Omni Neo. The platform is intended to support ticket purchases for local transport and tourist destinations as participating operators join the system.
For corporate banking customers, BOI launched IMPS bulk payment in collaboration with NPCI. Built on the bank’s Centralised Digital Payment Switch, the facility allows businesses to submit payment requests in bulk and receive a consolidated response file.
Programmable money moves into banking applications
One of the more significant technology demonstrations was BOI’s user-level programmable CBDC functionality.
The system allows digital rupee tokens to carry conditions governing how and where funds can be used, including merchant-category restrictions, geographic boundaries and expiry periods. Potential applications include targeted subsidies, relief payments and other purpose-bound government benefit programmes.
The concept is consistent with the Reserve Bank of India’s existing CBDC framework. RBI says programmability can restrict digital rupee funds to designated purposes using parameters such as expiry dates, geolocation, merchant category codes and merchant VPAs. The central bank has also been testing programmability across use cases including direct benefit transfers and specified employee allowances.
This makes programmable CBDC particularly relevant to Digital Payments Platforms, Banking Technology Innovation and embedded financial infrastructure. Instead of merely transferring value, a programmable payment can incorporate rules governing how that value is spent.
BOI also highlighted the Terra Mastercard World Credit Card, a contactless international card aimed at travel and lifestyle spending. The card provides access to airport lounges and rewards alongside merchant offers, with an annual fee of ₹990 for the principal card and ₹750 for an add-on card, according to the bank.
Banking infrastructure becomes more modular
Beyond customer-facing products, BOI is also building infrastructure for its technology ecosystem.
Its Unified AgentNxt Partner Integration framework is designed to standardise onboarding, operations, reporting and governance across approved technology providers. The objective is to make it easier for the bank to work with partners across customer acquisition, assisted banking, merchant services, financial inclusion, payments and collections.
The bank also demonstrated an Android-based Cash Recycler Machine proof of concept developed with Hitachi. Alongside conventional ATM and cash-recycling functions, the proposed platform supports interoperable UPI-based cardless withdrawals, Green PIN generation and real-time debit-card issuance.
The approach reflects a broader banking technology trend: moving physical banking infrastructure toward software-driven, multifunctional platforms.
AI, compliance and fintech collaboration
BOI’s technology portfolio also extends into compliance and customer engagement.
ALPHA PLUS is designed to automate activities including regulatory inspection management, correspondence tracking, compliance advisory, circular repositories, deviation reporting and penalties tracking.
Meanwhile, the FinTech Connect Portal gives fintech companies a central channel to register capabilities and submit proposals to the bank. Each application receives a reference ID and internal owner, creating a more structured process for evaluating potential technology partnerships.
The bank’s Markytics platform focuses on branch-level customer engagement. It can track visits, surface relevant products, generate leads and provide relationship managers with information about customer interest, dwell time and conversion trends.
BOI also showcased E-Kosha 2.0, a Tone Tag-enabled conversational banking platform designed to provide voice-based access to banking information and services. The bank says the system could eventually support areas such as payments, transfers, loans, insurance and investments across branches and other customer touchpoints.
Together, these initiatives show a banking strategy increasingly built around interoperable payment infrastructure, programmable digital money, AI-enabled customer engagement and fintech partnerships.
That direction mirrors the wider GFF 2026 agenda, where AI, digital transformation, operational resilience, risk, compliance and customer behaviour were major discussion areas.
For BOI, the challenge now shifts from showcasing individual technologies to integrating them into dependable, scalable services. The bank’s participation in discussions on AI in credit, autonomous banking, responsible AI, cybersecurity and multi-cloud infrastructure suggests that the next phase of its digital transformation will involve not only new customer products, but also changes to the underlying technology and governance stack.
Market Landscape
India’s payments infrastructure continues to operate at significant scale. NPCI recorded 24.51 billion UPI transactions worth ₹29.82 trillion in August 2026, demonstrating the volume that banks must support as digital payments become embedded in everyday commerce.
Meanwhile, India’s CBDC ecosystem is moving beyond basic payment pilots. RBI’s current framework explicitly supports programmable and offline functionality, while its 2024–25 Annual Report says CBDC pilots have expanded into programmability, offline transactions and additional participants.
The competitive landscape therefore extends across Digital Payments Platforms, Open Banking Infrastructure, Embedded Finance Platforms, Banking Technology Innovation and fintech collaboration. Banks increasingly need to operate both as financial institutions and as technology platforms capable of integrating external providers.
Top Insights
- Bank of India’s GFF portfolio spans payments, CBDC, cards, self-service banking, compliance and fintech partnerships rather than a single digital-banking product.
- UPI Help 2.0 centralises transaction, complaint and mandate management while extending Omni Neo’s role as a broader payment interface.
- Programmable CBDC introduces configurable rules around purpose, geography, merchant categories and expiry, aligning with RBI’s digital rupee experimentation.
- The Hitachi-backed cash-recycler concept combines ATM functions with cardless UPI withdrawals, Green PIN generation and instant debit-card issuance.
- FinTech Connect and AgentNxt are aimed at making external technology partnerships more structured, standardised and scalable.
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