Indian Payments Sector Shifts Focus to Proactive Cyber Threat Detection

Fintech companies in the Indian payments sector are shifting their security focus from preventing intrusions to detecting and containing them before customer data or funds are compromised. Cashfree reported that attempted attacks have increased at least ten times more frequently than a year ago, prompting the company to tighten controls and use AI to identify vulnerabilities. PhonePe is deploying machine-learning systems to assess transaction risks in real time, which can trigger tighter limits or temporary settlement holds for unusual merchant activity.

The increased frequency of cyberattacks, which have hit about 20 Indian financial institutions, highlights significant systemic risk within the payment infrastructure. This shift to advanced detection methods reflects the high stakes in a system where the unified payments interface processed 25.47 billion transactions worth ₹31.53 lakh crore in October.