Talk, Tap, Done! PhonePe Rolls Out Voice Command Feature for Payments: How Does It Work?

PhonePe New Feature: Fintech firm and digital payments app, PhonePe, on Friday, February 20, rolled out a new feature powered by Microsoft Foundry. The new AI-powered feature would let users to make payments using language text or voice commands.

The new feature would ensure that PhonePe users are able to initiate and complete in-app tasks via natural language text or voice commands, enhance convenience and bring improve personalised experience. Here are all the details about PhonePe new feature.

Additionally, users can directly authenticate UPI payments through their smartphone's built-in security options like fingerprint or face unlock, as an alternative to manually entering the UPI PIN (personal identification number). This would enable two-factor authentication layer for UPI transactions.

What is PhonePe's New AI-Powered Search Built Feature?

The new feature will let PhonePe users to give voice commands for performing tasks like financial transactions, etc. Users can also make voice commands like Recharge FASTag, Gold Price for to avail features.

For instance, a request such as "Pay Hemanth 20 rupees" automatically launches the payment interface with the recipient pre-selected or displays all relevant contacts named Hemanth.

As per the company press release, the feature captures insights and can interpret whether a user is trying to make a payment, complete a purchase, or reach support for help. All of this is achieved via a hybrid model that combines local on-device and cloud inferencing, while keeping all processing secure and ensuring privacy with no personal or transactional data leaving the PhonePe environment.

How To Use PhonePe New Feature?

The feature is yet to become active across cities and in all locations. The feature will become active in phases to users across India. Users can access the feature via the Global Search Bar, Help Center and the History tab on the PhonePe payments app.

"For years, payment apps have been built as utilitarian tools, optimized for transactions and not people. This launch is the first step towards changing that. Our vision is to make payments accessible to every Indian, and AI enables us to build an intelligent interface that anticipates what users need before they even go looking for it. Through our collaboration with Microsoft, we aim to simplify payments further by understanding intent, not just inputs. And we believe intelligence at the edge is the future and the most thoughtful way to deliver real value without compromising on privacy or security," noted Rahul Chari, Founder, Whole-time Director & CTO, PhonePe.

"As more Indians embrace natural language to interact with digital services, PhonePe's new AI-powered experience is a strong step toward more intuitive and accessible digital payments. Microsoft Foundry provides the underlying capabilities that help innovators like PhonePe build secure, scalable and human-centred products for millions," stated Puneet Chandok, President, Microsoft India and South Asia.