Payment-related calls represent 20–30% of a retail bank's inbound volume, split between initiation help (customers unfamiliar with mobile apps or calling from a non-smartphone), payment status inquiry, bill payment confirmation, and dispute filing. Kallix handles all four flows through a guided voice experience backed by live CBS and NPCI connectivity.

For UPI: the agent guides the customer through entering the beneficiary VPA (Virtual Payment Address) or mobile number, confirms the registered name via NPCI's VPA validation API, reads the payee details for confirmation, and then prompts the customer to enter their UPI PIN via the telephone keypad (DTMF). The PIN is captured by the bank's IVR layer — it is never spoken aloud, never heard by Kallix's voice engine, and never leaves the bank's secure telephony perimeter.

For NEFT and RTGS: the agent collects beneficiary account number and IFSC, validates the IFSC against the RBI IFSC directory, confirms the bank name and branch, and then routes the transfer instruction to the CBS after OTP + MPIN authentication. For RTGS, the agent checks the operating window (7 AM–6 PM on banking days; 24/7 at some banks) and advises accordingly.

For BBPS bill payments: the agent identifies the biller from the customer's natural language description ('pay my BSES electricity bill', 'top up my Airtel prepaid'), fetches the outstanding amount from the BBPS biller API, confirms the amount and biller details, and processes the payment via the bank's BBPS participant connection. Post-payment, a BBPS receipt reference number is sent to the customer's registered WhatsApp.

RBI's circular on security and risk mitigation for electronic payment transactions (2011, updated 2021) mandates two-factor authentication for all digital payment channels. For voice-initiated payments, Kallix implements a layered authentication model that keeps the most sensitive credential — the UPI PIN or transaction OTP — entirely outside the AI voice layer.

Layer 1 (session authentication): CLI match against the registered mobile number, plus MPIN or SMS OTP. This is the same authentication used for balance inquiries and establishes the customer's identity before any payment details are discussed.

Layer 2 (transaction authorisation): for UPI payments, the customer enters their 6-digit UPI PIN via DTMF keypad. The DTMF tones are captured by the bank's IVR telephony layer (Avaya, Cisco, Genesys), which forwards the tokenised authorisation to the NPCI UPI switch. The AI engine hears only a silent interval during PIN entry — it never receives, processes, or logs the PIN digits. For NEFT/RTGS, a transaction OTP is generated and sent to the registered mobile, which the customer reads back to the agent for verification before the transfer instruction is submitted to the CBS.

This architecture satisfies RBI's requirement for 'out-of-band' second factor for payment transactions: the UPI PIN channel (DTMF/keypad) is independent of the voice channel (speech recognition), ensuring that even if the voice channel were intercepted, the transaction cannot be authorised. New payee additions trigger an additional 24-hour cooling period at most banks — the AI advises the customer of this hold and sets the expectation proactively.

UPI payment initiation via voice is particularly valuable for three customer segments: elderly customers unfamiliar with UPI apps, customers whose phone battery or internet is unavailable, and rural customers using UPI 123Pay on feature phones. Kallix guides all three through the same underlying payment flow, adapted to the channel.

Step 1 — Payee identification: the customer provides the beneficiary VPA, mobile number, or Aadhaar-linked virtual address. The agent queries NPCI's UPI VPA resolution API and returns the registered account holder name. This step is critical for fraud prevention — customers frequently misdial VPAs, and the name confirmation step prevents payments to unintended recipients.

Step 2 — Amount confirmation: the agent collects the transfer amount, checks it against the customer's daily UPI limit (Rs 1 lakh standard; up to Rs 5 lakh for specific categories like healthcare, education, government), and confirms the net amount with a clear read-back: 'You are about to send ₹8,500 to Rajesh Kumar at rajesh@ybl. Is this correct?'

Step 3 — PIN authorisation: the agent instructs the customer to enter their 6-digit UPI PIN on the phone keypad. The DTMF capture module intercepts the tones and submits them to the NPCI UPI switch via the bank's PSP (Payment Service Provider) API. The AI engine is silent during this interval, hearing only completion acknowledgement from the DTMF module.

Step 4 — Status and confirmation: the agent retrieves the UTR number and final transaction status (success/failure), reads the outcome, and dispatches the UTR to registered WhatsApp. For failed transactions, it identifies the failure reason (UPI error code) and advises next steps.

UPI 123Pay was launched by NPCI and RBI in March 2022 specifically to extend UPI to feature phone users — a segment estimated at 40 crore+ users who cannot access BHIM UPI or third-party UPI apps. The framework defines four interaction modes: IVR call, proximity sound-based (Truetone), missed call, and app on feature phone. Kallix operates within the IVR call mode.

In the UPI 123Pay IVR flow, the customer dials a dedicated NPCI-registered IVR number (different from the bank's main helpline). Kallix's AI layer handles natural language interaction on top of the IVR session — the customer can say 'send ₹500 to Ramesh' rather than navigating numeric menus, with the agent handling name-to-VPA resolution and the transfer flow.

Authentication for UPI 123Pay uses the same DTMF-based UPI PIN mechanism as smartphone UPI — the customer enters their PIN via the handset keypad. For customers using basic keypad phones, the AI agent uses slower prompts and numeric confirmation (saying 'press 1 to confirm, press 2 to cancel' at each step) rather than assuming voice confirmation is reliable on a low-quality feature phone line.

UPI 123Pay supports the same transaction limits as standard UPI: Rs 1 lakh per transaction, Rs 1 lakh per day. Biller categories supported include electricity, water, gas, telecom recharge, and FASTag. Banks registering with NPCI as UPI 123Pay participants must provide an NPCI-approved IVR infrastructure — Kallix's platform is pre-certified for UPI 123Pay participant deployment.

NEFT and RTGS transfers via voice are primarily initiated by three customer types: those without mobile internet or banking app access, elderly customers who prefer telephone banking, and business owners making high-value RTGS payments outside business hours who need immediate confirmation.

For NEFT: the agent collects beneficiary account number, 11-character IFSC code (or assists the customer in identifying it if they have the cheque book or passbook), and validates the IFSC against RBI's published IFSC directory — returning the bank name and branch address as a confirmation step. NEFT has no minimum transfer amount and operates 24/7 in 30-minute settlement batches (RBI mandate effective December 2019). The agent advises which batch window the transfer will land in and confirms the expected credit time.

For RTGS: transfers require a minimum of Rs 2 lakh and typically settle in real time within 30 minutes. Operating hours for RTGS are 7 AM to 6 PM on banking days, though some banks have extended this. The agent checks the current time against the RTGS window and, if the request is outside operating hours, offers to either: (a) schedule the RTGS for execution at the next window open, or (b) process via NEFT immediately if the amount qualifies for NEFT.

Security: NEFT/RTGS transfers require transaction OTP in addition to the session MPIN/CLI authentication. The OTP is generated by the bank's CBS and sent to the registered mobile number; the customer reads it back to the agent. For new beneficiaries, a 24-hour cooling period applies — most banks enforce this at the CBS level for all transfer channels, and the AI advises the customer of the hold period and earliest execution window.

BBPS (Bharat Bill Payment System), operated by NPCI under RBI's Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007, is India's interoperable bill payment infrastructure. It connects over 20,000 registered billers across 20 standardised categories — and Kallix's BBPS integration enables the AI to handle the full bill payment cycle without the customer needing a mobile app or netbanking login.

Biller identification: the agent maps natural language biller descriptions to the BBPS biller registry. A customer saying 'pay my Tata Power bill' or 'recharge my Jio postpaid' is matched to the correct BBPS biller ID using a combination of entity recognition and the bank's locally maintained biller-alias dictionary (built during onboarding to account for how that bank's customers refer to specific billers in regional languages).

Bill fetch: once the biller is identified, the agent collects the customer identifier (consumer number, mobile number, or account number depending on the biller type) and calls the BBPS bill fetch API. For billers that support this, the API returns the outstanding amount and due date in real time. For billers that don't support bill fetch (typically smaller utilities), the agent prompts the customer to provide the amount.

Categories supported: electricity (state DISCOMs), piped gas/PNG, water supply, broadband, telecom (prepaid recharge + postpaid), DTH, cable TV, insurance premium, loan EMI, FASTag recharge, municipal taxes, housing society maintenance, school/college fees, hospital dues, subscriptions, and credit card payment. Payment limits: Rs 50,000 per transaction per biller category on BBPS. A BBPS transaction reference is generated and constitutes the payment receipt — sent to registered WhatsApp and email.

Payment limits in India are defined at two levels: NPCI/RBI-mandated network limits, and bank-imposed internal limits that can be tighter than the network level. Kallix enforces both in real time, querying the customer's CBS profile for their specific limit configuration before initiating any payment.

UPI network limits (NPCI): Rs 1 lakh per transaction and Rs 1 lakh per day for standard P2P (person-to-person) and P2M (person-to-merchant) payments. For specific categories — healthcare payments, insurance premium payments, education fees, government payments, and capital market transactions — NPCI has extended the per-transaction limit to Rs 5 lakh. UPI Lite (offline small-value UPI) is limited to Rs 500 per transaction and Rs 2,000 total wallet balance.

IMPS limits (NPCI): Rs 5 lakh per transaction (revised upward from Rs 2 lakh in November 2021). No daily transaction count cap at the network level, though banks impose their own.

NEFT: no minimum and no network-level maximum. Banks typically apply their own maximum (e.g., Rs 25 lakh, Rs 50 lakh per day via voice channel) to manage fraud risk on the phone banking channel specifically. The AI advises the customer of their channel-specific limit when applicable.

RTGS: minimum Rs 2 lakh, no upper cap at the network level. Banks typically require an additional callback verification for RTGS above Rs 25 lakh initiated via voice.

BBPS: Rs 50,000 per transaction per biller category on the BBPS network. Banks may allow repeat transactions to the same biller on the same day up to an aggregate daily limit.

When a customer's requested amount exceeds their remaining daily limit, the agent explains the limit, confirms how much has already been transacted that day (from the CBS), and offers to split the transaction (where applicable) or advise on alternative channels with higher limits.

Voice-channel payment fraud follows predictable patterns — social engineering calls where fraudsters impersonate bank staff or government officials and instruct victims to initiate a transfer. Kallix's fraud prevention layer is built around these known attack vectors.

Payee verification: every new beneficiary VPA or account number is validated against NPCI's VPA registry or RBI IFSC directory before payment. The registered account holder name is read back to the customer — a step that catches transposed digits and malicious VPAs that mimic legitimate ones ('paytm@okaxis' vs 'paytrn@okaxis').

New payee cooling period: when a beneficiary is being added for the first time, most banks enforce a 24-hour hold before the first payment can be made. The AI advises the customer of this policy immediately rather than processing the payment and letting it fail — reducing frustration and explaining the security rationale.

SIM swap detection: if the inbound CLI was registered on the customer's mobile number within the last 48 hours (a flag set in the CBS after telecom-reported SIM swap events), the agent escalates to enhanced verification — requiring branch visit or video KYC before processing any payment, consistent with RBI's SIM swap fraud guidelines.

Social engineering detection: the agent's NLU model is trained to flag specific phishing patterns — phrases like 'my bank officer asked me to transfer', 'I won a lottery and need to pay taxes', 'government refund but first send money'. When detected, the agent does not complete the payment, instead telling the customer this is a common fraud pattern and advising them to call the bank's official fraud helpline (1930, the national cybercrime number).

Velocity checks: multiple payment attempts to new beneficiaries within a short window, or amounts that sum close to the daily limit, trigger a fraud review flag that pauses the transaction and routes to the fraud operations queue for manual clearance.

UPI AutoPay (recurring mandate on UPI) enables merchants and billers to automatically debit customers at fixed intervals — a more convenient and costless alternative to NACH for small-value recurring payments. Launched by NPCI in 2020, UPI AutoPay is used for OTT subscriptions, insurance premiums, SIP investments, utility bills, loan EMIs, and magazine subscriptions.

Mandate creation flow: the customer provides the biller or merchant name, the maximum amount per debit, the frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual), the start date, and end date or number of debits. The AI maps the merchant to the NPCI registered merchant ID (for known billers) or uses the VPA provided. It reads back all mandate parameters before submitting the mandate creation request to NPCI via the bank's UPI PSP API. The customer is notified via UPI app notification and SMS to confirm the mandate.

Authentication at the time of mandate creation requires UPI PIN via DTMF. At execution time: for mandates of Rs 15,000 or below per debit, NPCI's mandate circular (2021) allows auto-debit without PIN confirmation — the mandate itself serves as the standing authorisation. For mandates above Rs 15,000, a pre-debit notification is sent 24 hours in advance and the customer must confirm with UPI PIN (or the debit does not execute).

Mandate management via voice: the AI can retrieve active UPI AutoPay mandates, show debit history, suspend a mandate temporarily, or initiate cancellation — all confirmed with MPIN authentication. Cancelled mandates take effect immediately in the NPCI registry, unlike NACH which requires 7–10 business days.

Payment failures on voice channels require clear, immediate explanation — a customer who transferred money and is uncertain whether it went through is highly agitated. Kallix resolves post-payment ambiguity in real time.

For UPI: after PIN submission, the NPCI switch returns a transaction status within 30–90 seconds. The agent reads the result: success with UTR, or failure with the NPCI error code in plain language. Common UPI failure codes and their voice responses: U30 (payer bank server down — 'your bank's UPI server had a technical issue; the debit will be reversed within 24 hours'), U16 (daily limit exceeded — 'you've reached your Rs 1 lakh UPI limit for today'), U69 (invalid VPA — 'the recipient's UPI address doesn't exist; please verify it and try again').

For pending states (UPI transaction status shows 'pending' beyond 2 minutes): the agent advises the customer that the transaction is in NPCI's reconciliation window — typically resolved within 2 hours — and offers to send a WhatsApp notification when the status updates. If the debit has occurred on the customer's account but the credit hasn't reached the beneficiary, this constitutes a 'deemed declined' scenario and RBI mandates the originating bank to reverse the debit within 24 hours.

For NEFT failures (account not found, account closed, IFSC invalid): the agent retrieves the return memo from the CBS and advises the customer on resolution — typically waiting for the next batch run to receive the reversal. NEFT reversals are processed in the same batch cycle that receives the return, so the customer typically sees their money back within 24–48 hours.

For disputed payments (customer denies initiating a successful transfer): the agent captures the transaction details, raises a chargeback initiation in the CBS, and advises the customer that NPCI mandates a T+5 business day resolution window for UPI disputes. A dispute reference number is sent to the customer's registered WhatsApp.

Government payments — income tax, advance tax, GST, TDS, and state government dues — account for a meaningful portion of high-value NEFT transactions at private and public sector banks. Many customers are confused about which challan type to use, which assessment year applies, or whether a payment submitted via the ITD portal has actually been credited.

For income tax payments (Challan 280): the agent helps the customer identify whether the payment is for self-assessment tax, advance tax, tax on regular assessment, or a demand notice. It collects the PAN, assessment year, and payment type, then routes the transaction via NEFT to the authorised bank's government remittance module. The CIN (Challan Identification Number) — the unique tax payment receipt — is sent to the customer's registered WhatsApp and email.

For GST (PMT-06 challan): the agent collects the GSTIN, tax period, and head-wise split (CGST/SGST/IGST/Cess), validates the GSTIN format, and processes payment via the bank's GSTN portal integration. The bank provides the Electronic Cash Ledger (ECL) credit reference to the customer.

For TDS payments (Challan 281): the agent collects the TAN, deductee category (company/non-company), nature of payment (salary, rent, professional fees, etc.), and assessment year. It processes via the bank's NSDL TDS portal integration.

For state government payments (state GST, stamp duty, property tax, registration fees): the AI is pre-integrated with state treasury portals for states where the bank is an authorised collection bank. The agent advises the customer to use the bank's NetBanking portal for states where the voice channel integration is not yet live.

International remittances via voice are primarily used by two segments: NRI customers checking on inward remittances from abroad, and resident customers making outward payments (education fees, overseas travel expenses, foreign investment under LRS). Both flows have FEMA compliance requirements that the AI navigates.

Inward remittances: the agent queries the CBS nostro account records and SWIFT message logs to report whether an expected inward transfer has arrived, the originating bank and country, the foreign currency amount, the RBI reference rate applied for conversion, any FEMA purpose code recorded, and the expected credit timeline to the beneficiary's account. For NRE accounts: full repatriation-eligible credit, typically 24–48 hours from nostro receipt. For NRO accounts: credited net of TDS (30% on interest income from foreign source for NRIs).

Outward remittances under RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS): resident individuals may remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year for permissible purposes (education, travel, medical, maintenance of relatives abroad, investment). The AI collects the purpose, amount, and beneficiary details, verifies the LRS utilisation limit remaining (from the CBS's LRS ledger), and confirms Form A2 submission requirement — the statutory declaration for outward remittances.

For first-time international beneficiaries: FEMA regulations and most banks' internal policies require enhanced verification before an outward SWIFT transfer is executed — typically a branch visit or video-KYC. The AI captures the transfer details and books the verification appointment, rather than attempting to complete the transfer over voice for new overseas beneficiaries.

SWIFT confirmation messages (MT910 for credit confirmation, MT940 for statement) are dispatched to the customer's registered email once the transaction is confirmed.

Payment infrastructure integration is more complex than balance inquiry integration because it involves multiple external systems — the CBS, NPCI's UPI switch, the BBPS platform, and in some cases state government portals — each with different API contracts, latency characteristics, and compliance requirements.

CBS integration for NEFT/RTGS/IMPS: Kallix submits transfer instructions to the bank's payment processing module via the same API gateway used by the NetBanking and mobile app channels. This ensures that every voice-initiated transfer is logged in the CBS in the same format as a digitally-initiated transfer, with the channel flag ('IVR-AI') recorded for audit purposes. Supported CBS: Infosys Finacle 10.x/11.x, Oracle FLEXCUBE 12.x/14.x, Temenos T24/Transact, Nucleus FinnOne Neo.

NPCI UPI integration: Kallix connects as a sub-merchant under the bank's UPI PSP (Payment Service Provider) certification. The bank holds the NPCI UPI PSP certification; Kallix operates as a technology service provider on top of the bank's existing PSP API endpoint. For UPI 123Pay, a separate NPCI registration for the IVR participant is required, which Kallix supports with a pre-certified integration package.

BBPS integration: Kallix connects as a software service provider to the bank's BBPS Agent Institution (AI) connection to NPCI. All BBPS transactions are settled through the bank's BBPS participant account. Biller registry sync is performed daily from NPCI's BBPS biller registry, ensuring the agent always has current biller IDs and fetch API parameters.

Data security: no payment instruction data is persisted on Kallix infrastructure post-transaction. The CBS transaction ID is returned to Kallix's session layer for real-time status display and is discarded at session end. All data in transit is encrypted via TLS 1.3. PCI DSS scope is minimised by design — Kallix does not handle card numbers, CVV, or UPI PINs (all routed through DTMF to the bank's IVR layer).

Positive Pay — introduced by RBI in January 2021 via a circular to all scheduled commercial banks — requires that for cheques above the bank's mandated threshold, the issuer confirms key details (cheque number, date, payee name, and amount) to the bank before the cheque is presented for payment. This prevents cheque fraud through alteration of payee name or amount.

Kallix enables Positive Pay confirmation via voice: after writing a high-value cheque, a customer can call the bank's AI helpline, authenticate via MPIN, and register the cheque details in under 2 minutes. The agent collects the 6-digit cheque number, the exact amount, the payee's full name as written on the cheque, and the cheque date. It reads back all details and confirms before submitting to the NPCI Positive Pay System (PPS).

Thresholds: RBI mandated Positive Pay for cheques above Rs 50,000 as a system-level requirement, but left the customer-obligation threshold to each bank's discretion. Most large banks make it mandatory for cheques above Rs 5 lakh or Rs 10 lakh (i.e., the cheque will be returned if Positive Pay is not registered above this threshold). The AI advises the customer of the bank's specific threshold during the call.

For business customers issuing multiple cheques: the agent can accept batch Positive Pay registrations — collecting details for up to 5 cheques in a single call, confirming each in sequence. NPCI's PPS system allows registrations up to 24 hours before the cheque is presented. The registration confirmation reference number is sent to registered WhatsApp.

When a cheque is presented that matches the Positive Pay record, it clears normally. Mismatches (amount discrepancy, payee name alteration) trigger a hold and the bank contacts the issuer for clarification before honour or return.

Payment compliance in India is governed by a layered regulatory stack, and Kallix's payment agent design is built to satisfy each layer as a default, not through post-deployment configuration.

RBI Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007: Kallix operates as a technology service provider (TSP) to the bank — the bank holds the PSP licence, BBPS Agent Institution registration, and NPCI membership. Kallix's role is to provide the voice interaction layer and API orchestration. This structure means Kallix is out of scope for direct PSA 2007 licensing while the bank remains the regulated payment service provider.

RBI 2FA mandate: all payment transactions above Rs 2,000 must use two-factor authentication. Kallix's architecture satisfies this through MPIN + DTMF PIN for UPI, and MPIN + transaction OTP for NEFT/RTGS/IMPS. Low-value UPI Lite transactions (under Rs 500) are exempt from the 2FA requirement per RBI's UPI Lite notification.

PCI DSS: Kallix does not handle primary account numbers (PAN), card numbers, or CVV — all payment authentication sensitive data flows through the bank's DTMF IVR module directly to the NPCI switch. Kallix's payment integration is designed to be out of PCI DSS scope for card data by architecture.

FEMA compliance for international transfers: outward remittances require purpose code declaration and, above USD 250,000 per financial year, FEMA Section 5 approval. The AI captures purpose code, form A2 data, and flags LRS limit breaches.

TRAI TCCCPR 2018: outbound payment confirmation calls (e.g., sending a WhatsApp message after payment) must be classified as transactional communications and the bank must be registered accordingly. Inbound payment support calls are not subject to TCCCPR restrictions.

UPI disputes fall into four categories: transaction not initiated by customer (fraud), amount deducted but not credited to beneficiary (deemed declined), wrong amount debited, and payment to wrong beneficiary. Each has a different resolution path, and Kallix routes them accordingly.

For fraud disputes (transaction not initiated by customer): the AI immediately escalates to the fraud operations queue — this is not a standard chargeback process but a fraud reporting flow under RBI's circular on limiting liability for unauthorized transactions (RBI/2017-18/15). The customer must report within 3 working days for zero liability. The AI captures the report time-stamp, which starts the 10-working-day resolution clock.

For deemed declined (debit occurred, no credit to beneficiary): the customer gets the NPCI auto-reversal within 24 hours per NPCI's settlement rules. If the reversal hasn't appeared after 24 hours, the AI raises a formal dispute with NPCI reason code 'U069' (deemed declined) and provides a reference. The bank's reconciliation team resolves this within T+3 business days.

For wrong beneficiary (customer sent to the wrong VPA): NPCI's rules do not guarantee reversal for correctly authorised payments to the wrong VPA — this is treated as a voluntary dispute where the bank contacts the beneficiary's bank to request cooperative reversal. The AI captures the dispute, sets the customer's expectation (resolution is not guaranteed), and connects to a banking officer for case initiation.

For overbilling by merchant (amount deducted was higher than shown): NPCI reason code 'U008' (amount mismatch) is filed; T+5 resolution; interim credit under RBI's prescribed timeline applies for amounts above Rs 1,000.

FASTag, India's mandatory RFID-based toll payment system (applicable on national highways since February 2021), requires a pre-loaded wallet maintained by the issuing bank. Low-balance FASTag is a common service call — drivers approaching a highway toll discover insufficient balance and need an immediate recharge.

Kallix handles FASTag recharge by: identifying the customer's FASTag issuer bank (linked to their vehicle registration from the CBS profile), fetching the current FASTag wallet balance via the BBPS FASTag biller API, and processing a top-up via BBPS. The customer specifies the recharge amount (typically Rs 200–Rs 2,000), the agent confirms and debits the linked savings account.

For proactive management, the AI can set up a threshold-based auto-recharge standing instruction: 'When your FASTag balance falls below Rs 200, automatically recharge Rs 500 from your savings account.' This is configured as a CBS standing instruction linked to the BBPS FASTag biller and executes without any further customer action.

Other BBPS utility top-ups handled in the same flow: prepaid telecom recharge (Airtel, Jio, Vi, BSNL), DTH recharge (Tata Play, Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV, Sun Direct, D2H), piped gas advance payment (MGL, IGL, Mahanagar Gas, Adani Gas), and municipal prepaid water meter top-up (where the municipality is a BBPS-registered biller).

For postpaid bills across all these categories, the AI fetches the outstanding amount from the BBPS biller API and processes payment — with the BBPS receipt reference sent to WhatsApp as the payment proof.

Payment support calls are more complex than balance inquiries — they involve multi-step guided flows, higher security requirements, and more frequent escalations. This complexity means containment rates are lower (78–85%) but still substantially higher than legacy DTMF IVR (35–50%), where most customers give up mid-flow and press 0 for an agent.

Cost per interaction: human agents handling payment support (transfer guidance, bill payment, dispute filing) cost Rs 70–100 per call — higher than balance inquiry agents due to longer AHT (5–7 minutes for a guided NEFT transfer versus 3–4 minutes for a balance check). Kallix AI handles a guided UPI or NEFT transfer in 2.5–4 minutes at Rs 15–22 per interaction.

For a bank handling 30,000 payment-related calls monthly: at 82% containment, 24,600 calls resolved by AI at Rs 18 average = Rs 4.4 lakh/month. Without automation at Rs 85 average = Rs 20.9 lakh/month. Monthly saving: Rs 16.5 lakh. Annual saving: Rs 1.98 crore. Against implementation cost of Rs 35–55 lakh, break-even at month 5–7, 12-month ROI 3–4x.

Additional ROI levers: payment failure rate reduction (AI catches wrong IFSC and invalid VPA before submission, reducing failed-transaction support calls by 18–22%); Positive Pay registration uptake (AI prompts customers at cheque-writing moments, increasing Positive Pay registration from 12% to 55% of eligible cheques in banks that deploy voice reminders); and UPI AutoPay setup (each recurring mandate set up reduces future support calls by preventing subscription failures).

Mobile banking apps and NetBanking are the most efficient payment channels for digitally-enabled customers — faster, lower cost, and self-paced. Kallix's AI payment agent is explicitly designed for the customers these channels don't serve, not to compete with them.

Segment 1: elderly customers (60+ years). Bank data consistently shows that customers above 60 have smartphone adoption rates below 40% in India and significantly lower mobile banking activation rates. For this segment, the phone call is the native channel. An AI agent that can guide them through a UPI payment ('just enter your pin on the keypad like you would at an ATM') achieves completion rates of 68–75% — versus near-zero on mobile banking for first-time NEFT users in this segment.

Segment 2: feature phone users. India's 40 crore+ feature phone users cannot use UPI apps. UPI 123Pay via AI voice is their only digital payment channel outside physical bank branches or merchants.

Segment 3: app or internet outages. Bank app maintenance windows, OTP delivery failures, and internet connectivity issues regularly push customers to the call channel. An AI agent that can process NEFT payments during these windows reduces revenue leakage from transaction abandonment.

Segment 4: high-anxiety transactions. Some customers — particularly those sending large sums for the first time (property payments, education fee transfers) — prefer the reassurance of a human-sounding guide confirming each step before they commit, even if they're technically capable of using the app.

For these segments combined, Kallix's payment agent handles 78–85% of calls fully, versus 35–50% for DTMF IVR, at 60% of the human agent cost.

Payment deployments require more integration touchpoints than balance inquiry deployments — CBS, NPCI UPI switch, BBPS, and the bank's telephony DTMF module must all be connected and tested together before any live payment flows.

Weeks 1–3: CBS and NPCI integration. Kallix's integration team connects to the bank's payment API gateway and conducts contract testing across UPI, NEFT, RTGS, and IMPS flows. The most technically sensitive step is DTMF PIN capture — coordinating with the bank's telephony team (Avaya/Genesys/Cisco) to configure the IVR DTMF module to intercept PIN entry and route the authorisation to the NPCI switch without passing through Kallix's voice engine. This configuration requires bank telephony team involvement and IS Audit review.

Weeks 2–4: BBPS setup. The BBPS biller registry (20,000+ entries) is imported and indexed into Kallix's biller matching model. The bank's BBPS Agent Institution API is connected and tested with 50+ billers across all major categories.

Weeks 3–5: ASR tuning and fraud script calibration. Call transcript samples from the bank's existing payment helpline are used to tune payment-specific ASR (amount dictation, VPA reading, IFSC recitation). The fraud detection script is calibrated against the bank's known fraud pattern library.

Weeks 6–10: UAT and phased go-live. UAT covers 400+ test cases: all payment types, all failure modes, fraud pattern responses, limit enforcement, and new-payee cooling period. Go-live is phased — balance inquiry and bill payment first (weeks 6–7), NEFT/RTGS transfers (weeks 8–9), and UPI in-call initiation (week 10) — with containment and fraud flag monitoring daily during each phase.

NACH (National Automated Clearing House) recurring mandates are used for loan EMI repayments, SIP investments, insurance premiums, and subscription services. While new recurring payments increasingly use UPI AutoPay, NACH remains dominant for loan repayments and large-value subscriptions because it supports amounts above UPI AutoPay's current limits.

E-mandate setup via voice: the customer provides the beneficiary institution details (lender or service provider), their beneficiary account number and IFSC (the account to be debited), the maximum amount per debit, frequency, and start/end dates. The AI validates the IFSC and confirms the bank name. It then submits an e-mandate registration request to the bank's NACH module, which forwards it to the NPCI NACH Destination Bank registry.

The e-mandate flow generates a UMRN (Unique Mandate Reference Number) — the unique identifier for the mandate in the NPCI registry. The UMRN is sent to the customer's registered WhatsApp and email as the mandate confirmation receipt.

Authentication for NACH mandate registration requires the account holder's explicit consent — at minimum, MPIN authentication. For mandates above Rs 1 lakh per debit, some banks require a second factor: OTP or callback confirmation from an RM.

Physical mandates: for institutions that have not enabled e-mandate (some cooperative banks and smaller NBFCs), a physical NACH mandate form with wet signature is required. The AI captures the mandate details and mails a pre-filled mandate form to the customer's registered address, or guides the customer to visit the nearest branch — whichever is faster for the customer's situation.

Cancellation: NACH mandate cancellation via voice requires MPIN authentication, after which the AI submits a mandate cancellation request to the NPCI NACH registry. Cancellations take 7–10 business days to reflect, and the AI sets this expectation explicitly.

UPI Lite was introduced by NPCI to solve two problems: PIN fatigue for small payments and failed transactions in low-connectivity areas. The product operates on-device with a prepaid balance — no server-side PIN validation per transaction, which makes it faster and available offline.

Kallix agent support for UPI Lite covers:

Activation: the agent guides the customer through enabling UPI Lite in their banking app — selecting the UPI ID, setting the wallet limit (up to Rs 2,000), and completing the initial top-up via UPI. The process takes 3–5 minutes with agent guidance.

Top-up: when the UPI Lite balance runs low, the customer needs to top-up from their bank account. Kallix agents guide the top-up flow and confirm balance after completion.

Troubleshooting: common issues include the bank app not showing the UPI Lite option (app update required), top-up failing (bank account balance check), and small merchant terminals not accepting UPI Lite (merchant must be on NPCI-approved UPI Lite acquirer list).

UPI Lite balance is not interest-bearing and has no insurance against device loss — the agent explains this risk and recommends keeping the balance at the minimum needed (Rs 500–1,000 for daily use).

For Rs 500+ payments, the agent redirects to standard UPI with PIN authentication.

UPI-linked credit lines represent a significant product innovation for NBFC and bank lending — sachet loans disbursed to a UPI handle rather than a bank account, with repayment via UPI AutoPay. The RBI June 2023 circular permitted this for scheduled commercial banks; NBFC-linked UPI credit remains under regulatory review as of 2025.

Kallix support for UPI-linked credit line customers:

Activation: the agent guides the customer through linking the credit line to their UPI ID — confirming the available limit, the draw-down flow, and the repayment date.

Balance and utilisation enquiry: 'Your available UPI credit limit is Rs 12,400. You have used Rs 7,600 this month. Your repayment of Rs 7,600 is due on the 5th.'

Repayment reminder (pre-due and post-due): identical architecture to EMI reminders — T-3, T-1, and post-bounce follow-up.

Credit line increase request: the agent captures the request, confirms the eligibility criteria (repayment history, credit bureau check), and routes to the lender's credit team for assessment.

For BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) sachet products tied to merchant checkouts (Zomato, Swiggy, Meesho integrations), the agent handles transaction history queries and dispute initiation for unauthorised charges.

Kallix handles UPI-linked credit lifecycle within the same voice platform as all other banking products — reducing the need for product-specific support infrastructure.

NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) has been expanding UPI acceptance globally since 2022. Key milestones: UAE (2022, largest Indian diaspora market), Singapore (LaLa Pay and PayNow integration), UK, France (for tourism), Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia.

Kallix agent support for cross-border UPI queries:

Country acceptance: the agent confirms whether UPI is accepted at the customer's destination and which NPCI-partner app to use (PhonePe, GPay, Paytm, or the bank's UPI app — acceptance varies by country and partnership).

Transaction limits: cross-border UPI is subject to FEMA Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) limits — $250,000 per financial year for residents. For tourism and education, per-transaction limits vary by bank (typically Rs 50,000–1 lakh per transaction for consumer use).

TDS on cross-border UPI: the government introduced 20% TCS (Tax Collected at Source) on LRS remittances above Rs 7 lakh in FY2024 — applicable to cross-border UPI as well. Kallix agents explain TCS implications and guide customers to the bank's LRS tracking portal.

Failure resolution: cross-border UPI failures are more complex — merchant acquirer errors, currency conversion, and SWIFT-UPI bridge issues. The agent logs the failure with transaction ID, country, and merchant name and routes to the bank's international payments desk.

UPI Virtual Payment Addresses (VPAs) follow the format username@bankhandle — each bank issues its own handle (sbi@upi, paytm@paytm, ybl@phonepe, etc.). A customer with accounts at SBI, HDFC, and a Paytm wallet may have 4–6 VPAs, and managing which VPA receives payments from which source can be confusing.

Kallix agent support for VPA management:

VPA identification: 'You have two UPI IDs on record with us: yourname@sbi and yourname@okaxis. The first is linked to your savings account; the second is linked to your salary account. Which would you like to use for this transaction?'

Default VPA for receipt: the agent explains that the default VPA for receiving payments is the first VPA in the NPCI registry for that mobile number — and guides the customer through the steps to change the default in their banking app.

Deactivation of unused VPAs: inactive VPAs can be exploited in UPI fraud (especially if the SIM is recycled). The agent guides the customer to deactivate unused VPAs and confirms deactivation from the bank's records.

SIM change and VPA update: when a customer changes their SIM (mobile number), their UPI IDs linked to the old number become inaccessible. Kallix guides the re-linking process: visiting the bank branch with Aadhaar + new SIM proof, or using the bank's V-CIP video verification flow.

NPCI data indicates VPA management queries are the second-most-common category in UPI helpdesk volume, behind transaction failures.

Cheques and DDs remain relevant for specific transaction categories: property and vehicle purchases (where banks and registrars often require a physical instrument), government tenders, institutional payments, and senior citizen populations with limited digital adoption. MICR-encoded cheques cleared through CTS (Cheque Truncation System) are processed in T+1 cycles.

Kallix agent support for cheque and DD queries:

Cheque status: the agent queries the CBS for cheque status using cheque number and account number — 'Your cheque number 003456 for Rs 45,000 was cleared on [date] and debited from your account.'

Stop payment: the agent authenticates via OTP (cheque number, account, payee name must match), places a stop payment instruction in CBS, and confirms with a service request number. Stop payment is effective for cheques not yet presented — the agent explains that a presented-but-not-cleared cheque requires branch intervention.

DD issuance request: the agent captures DD details (beneficiary name, amount, purpose), confirms branch pickup or courier delivery, and provides the expected ready date.

Cheque bounce advisory: for returned cheques, the agent explains the reason code (insufficient funds, signature mismatch, post-dated), advises on the re-presentment window (90 days from date of issue), and for insufficient funds, guides the customer on maintaining the required balance before re-presentment.

Negotiable Instruments Act Section 138: the agent informs payees whose cheques have bounced of their right to send a legal demand notice — and routes to the bank's legal assistance helpline if needed.

UPI fraud is the fastest-growing category of financial fraud in India — RBI Annual Report 2024 reported over 29,000 UPI fraud cases with Rs 1,087 crore lost in FY2024. Common patterns include: screen sharing scams (victim shares screen to fraudster who initiates payment), fake refund scams, QR code collection requests, and SIM swap-triggered UPI credential theft.

Kallix fraud response flow:

1. Authentication: OTP-verified identity confirmation (standard security before any fraud disclosure)
2. Transaction confirmation: the agent pulls the disputed transaction from CBS and confirms: amount, recipient VPA, timestamp
3. Dispute initiation: the agent initiates a UPI dispute request in the bank's dispute management system (DMS), assigns a complaint reference number, and sets the SLA clock (NPCI mandates resolution within 3 business days)
4. National Cyber Crime Portal advisory: the agent provides the cybercrime.gov.in URL for the customer to file a parallel cybercrime report (important for FIR and insurance claims)
5. Future prevention advisory: the agent explains the specific scam pattern used and provides 3 prevention tips

RBI Zero Liability framework: if the fraud occurred without customer negligence, the customer has zero liability for the loss. The agent explains this and sets expectations for the dispute resolution timeline.

For customers who were scammed via screen sharing or giving OTP willingly, the bank may invoke limited liability rules — the agent explains the distinction and routes to the fraud team for case assessment.

IMPS completes in under 2 minutes 24 hours a day, including all bank holidays and the year-end peak (December 31 and January 1 when NEFT and RTGS have extended downtime). This makes IMPS critical for urgent payments: medical emergencies, last-minute property transactions, and business payables on holidays.

Kallix agent support for IMPS:

IMPS initiation guidance: two methods — MMID-based (Mobile Money Identifier, 7-digit number) for mobile-to-mobile transfers, and account number + IFSC code for bank account transfers. The agent confirms which method is appropriate and guides the customer through the banking app or IVR.

Transaction limit: IMPS is capped at Rs 5 lakh per transaction (RBI October 2021 — raised from Rs 2 lakh). Daily aggregate limits vary by bank (typically Rs 5–10 lakh). The agent confirms the customer's specific limit.

Failure resolution: IMPS failure codes are standardised:
- P2A (Person-to-Account): IFSC error, account dormant, account number mismatch
- P2P (Person-to-Person): MMID mismatch, mobile number not registered for IMPS
The agent identifies the failure code from CBS and guides the specific resolution step.

Pending credit advisory: IMPS credits are near-instant but occasionally show a 30–90 minute delay at the recipient's bank during high-volume periods. The agent confirms the transfer was successful at the originating bank and provides the IMPS transaction ID for the recipient's bank to trace.

For transfers above Rs 5 lakh, the agent redirects to RTGS (minimum Rs 2 lakh, T+30 minute credit).

Payment and transaction queries dominate retail banking contact centre volumes for three reasons: (1) payment failures cause immediate financial anxiety and generate high-urgency calls; (2) the transaction journey has multiple failure points (authentication, network, beneficiary bank, daily limits); and (3) customers often do not understand the difference between UPI, IMPS, NEFT, and RTGS — leading to repeat calls about the same transaction.

Kallix handles the full payment support stack within a single voice interface:
- UPI failures: 68% resolved without escalation (most are authentication or daily limit issues)
- IMPS failures: 74% resolved (failure code identification + resubmission guidance)
- NEFT/RTGS status: 82% resolved (transaction status from CBS, expected credit timeline)
- Cheque status: 88% resolved (CBS query with cheque number)
- Payment fraud: 45% resolved (dispute initiation + cybercrime portal advisory; remaining 55% need fraud team)

Cost model for 80,000 payment calls per month:
- Without Kallix: 80,000 × Rs 110 = Rs 88 lakh/month (Rs 10.6 crore/year)
- With Kallix (70% AI resolution): 56,000 AI + 24,000 human = Rs 5.4 lakh + Rs 26.4 lakh = Rs 31.8 lakh/month (Rs 3.8 crore/year)
- Annual savings: Rs 6.8 crore

First-call resolution (FCR) improves from 62% to 84% because Kallix accesses CBS, dispute management, and NPCI systems in real time — providing definitive answers rather than 'we will call you back.'

Payment aggregators (Razorpay, Cashfree, CCAvenue, PayU, Paytm PG) sit between consumers and merchants. When a consumer pays for an online order and money is debited but the order fails, the money is held in the PA's escrow account — not yet settled to the merchant. The consumer must raise a dispute with their bank, who contacts the PA.

Kallix handles the consumer-side of this dispute:

Failed payment at merchant checkout: the agent confirms whether the debit occurred (CBS query) and whether the transaction was successful at the PA layer. If the debit is confirmed but the PA has not settled to the merchant, the agent initiates a dispute with the PA reference number.

Refund delay: RBI PA Guidelines mandate refunds within 5–7 business days of a failed or cancelled order. The agent checks refund status, confirms the expected credit date, and escalates to the PA desk if the deadline has passed.

Merchant insolvency scenario: if a merchant has shut down and the PA holds funds in escrow, the consumer's recourse is through the PA's escrow resolution process. Kallix agents explain the process and route to the bank's PA relations team.

Chargeback initiation: for fraudulent merchant charges (goods not delivered, billed twice), the agent initiates a chargeback with supporting transaction details — following RBI dispute resolution timelines (card networks: 45 days; UPI: 3 business days).

PA disputes resolved with Kallix show a reduction in average resolution time from 9.4 days to 3.1 days due to same-day dispute initiation versus customers waiting to visit a branch.