Pine Labs has launched P3P, an agentic payment protocol for UPI, with Grantex providing identity controls and Gullak as the first live partner.
The protocol allows an AI agent to complete a UPI payment without the human authentication step, such as MPIN entry, that UPI transactions have required to date.
According to the official press release, UPI processed over 23 billion transactions in May 2026, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The network was built around a human approving each transaction, a model that does not account for an AI agent acting at the point of payment instead of a person. Pine Labs said the resulting authentication failure had, until now, stopped agent-led commerce from completing on UPI.
How the protocol works
P3P extends UPI's existing mandate infrastructure, including One Time Mandates and the Reserve Pay facility, to cover payments initiated by AI agents. Under the model, a consumer authorises a mandate once. The agent can then browse, select, negotiate, and complete payment within the terms of that mandate, without further human intervention at checkout.
Three components support the protocol: P3P supplies the payment and settlement rails, Grantex, a separate platform, handles identity verification, delegated authorisation, spend controls, and an audit trail, while HTTP 402, an existing web standard for machine-readable payment requests, provides the mechanism for discovering and requesting payment. Pine Labs said the consumer can set spending limits and revoke or update the mandate at any time, with compliance controls built into the protocol layer rather than added afterwards.
Early deployments
Gullak, an India-based digital gold savings platform, is the first partner live on P3P. Through this integration, a Gullak user can set a rule, for instance instructing an agent to purchase around USD 5.30 of gold once the price falls below approximately USD 169 per gram, after approving a UPI mandate once. The agent then completes the purchase automatically. Manthan Shah, Co-founder, Gullak, described the move as a shift from manual gold savings towards more automated approaches to wealth accumulation.
In addition, Vijay Sales, an India-based electronics retail chain operating over 150 stores nationwide, is running a proof of concept with P3P, under which a customer's agent could complete a purchase once a product reaches a target price. Pine Labs said further deployments are underway across retail, fintech, and travel sectors, with additional partner announcements expected.
Market context
The global agentic commerce market is projected to reach USD 65.47 billion by 2033, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 35.7%, according to Grand View Research (2025). Pine Labs frames UPI's mandate frameworks, including Single Block Multiple Debit and One Time Mandate, which allow funds to be blocked in advance and debited on a triggering event with near-instant settlement, as infrastructure already suited to agentic transactions.
Regarding the launch, Amrish Rau, CEO, Pine Labs, said the company built P3P by extending mandate infrastructure that UPI had already established, rather than developing a separate payment system for AI agents.
