India's fintech industry is rapidly developing artificial intelligence capabilities across payments, lending, customer service and merchant operations, but meaningful revenue from these AI products is expected only from FY28 onwards, according to Emkay Research. The brokerage, in a report following the Global Fintech Fest 2026, found that 32% of sessions at the event were explicitly focused on AI or agentic AI, with 144 of 452 sessions dedicated to these themes. However, adoption and monetisation remain at an early stage, with none of the companies covered by the report disclosing revenue from their new AI products. As per Emkay Research, "We expect AI-led revenue to be an FY28 and beyond story, with servicing and insight work showing up sooner."
Several major fintech companies demonstrated AI capabilities at the fest. Paytm showcased an AI platform for banks, lenders, insurers and small merchants, including tools for customer service, sales, fraud assessment and marketing. PhonePe demonstrated AI-powered search, transaction insights and merchant-focused tools. Razorpay showcased an AI account manager for small businesses and a proprietary payments model trained on roughly 3 trillion data points across 4 billion payments. These companies are betting on AI across fintech, but the technology is yet to become a meaningful revenue driver in the near term, according to Emkay Research.
According to the Emkay Research report, fintech companies are developing AI across four broad areas: products for banks and other financial institutions, consumer and merchant applications, internal operations, and agentic payments that can execute transactions with limited or no human involvement. The immediate gains from AI are mainly operational, including lower cost of service, improved customer support and faster technology integration. For fintech companies, initially the benefits might come via internal efficiencies rather than direct monetisation, with the brokerage noting that "the benefits might include lower servicing costs, better customer support, faster technology integration and other potential benefits." Whether these operational efficiencies lead to higher usage and incremental revenue should become clearer over the near to medium term.
The report highlighted the expanding digital infrastructure supporting the sector. UPI recorded 24.51 billion transactions worth ₹29.82 lakh crore in August 2026, while the Unified Lending Interface had more than 64 lenders and 136 data services. For agentic payments, regulation remains a key constraint, with the Unified Agent Protocol for small autonomous debits still pending at the close of the fest and human checkpoints remaining necessary. The digital infrastructure growth demonstrates the robust foundation supporting the AI development initiatives across the fintech sector.
The Emkay Research report noted that product launches should be viewed as "a leading indicator of ambition rather than of earnings," with proprietary data and distribution likely to determine which AI capabilities eventually translate into meaningful business growth. The brokerage expects AI-led revenue to be an FY28 and beyond story, with servicing and insight work showing up sooner than transaction-based AI applications. For investors, this assessment suggests that AI product launches should currently be viewed more as a sign of future ambition than immediate earnings potential, with the report emphasizing that "proprietary data, distribution, and the ability to convert AI capabilities into higher usage are likely to determine which fintech companies eventually turn their AI investments into meaningful revenue growth."
