In this future-forward episode of India FinTech Diaries, we sit down with Aishwary Gupta, Global Head of Payments at Polygon Labs, to unpack what comes after UPI. With stablecoin legislation gaining traction globally and Web3 infrastructure maturing rapidly, this episode explores what India’s next-generation payment rails could look like in a programmable, tokenized future.
Key Highlights
🪙 Stablecoins & CBDCs Demystified
Aishwary explains the growing adoption of stablecoins, their distinction from central bank digital currencies, and why both can coexist in India’s future stack.
🌐 Limitations of UPI
UPI has transformed domestic payments—but it’s still a messaging layer, not an autonomous settlement network. Blockchain could offer real-time, trustless, programmable transactions.
🏦 Programmable Payments & Open Banking
From tokenized fixed deposits to AI-powered lending agents, Aishwary discusses how programmable money could redefine credit access and personal finance.
🚀 Polygon’s Role in Scaling Commerce
With ZK rollups and thousands of TPS capacity, Polygon is building the infra to support agentic commerce, global micropayments, and interoperable smart contracts.
🧱 The Stack of 2030
India’s ideal future stack? A combination of evolved UPI, composable CBDCs, and INR-backed stablecoins—all working together to power global, real-time, intelligent commerce.
Tune in to understand how this emerging area of Fintech could reshape payments.
Timeline
00:00 Start
00:45 Introduction
01:39 About Aishwary
03:47 Stablecoins 101
06:53 What should India’s next-gen payments rail look like?
15:09 Use cases for Stablecoins
18:02 Regulatory clarity needed for INR backed Stablecoins
21:15 Agentic payments and Stablecoins
23:52 Role of scaling solutions
26:38 CBDCs and Stablecoins
30:46 Lessons learned from Polygon Labs
33:33 India’s payment stack in 2030