Published 30th October 2026
Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
DC777 CO777 DTD777
The Introduction
One conversation. A new perspective.
One UPI app discovered. A choice reconsidered.
Could this spark a wider journey towards NPCI BHIM adoption?
The Trigger — When a
Conversation Changes the Picture
Sometimes, a change in digital behaviour begins not with a new
technology, but with a conversation.
On 26 October 2026, Business Today reported that Mr. Anand Mahindra had switched to BHIM after a conversation with Mr. Dilip Asbe, Managing Director and CEO of NPCI.
The exchange brought BHIM into sharper focus
for Mahindra and prompted him to reconsider his choice of UPI app.
What makes this moment noteworthy is not simply that a prominent business leader switched apps.
It is that a conversation appears to
have opened a new window into an app and the wider UPI ecosystem behind it.
Could greater awareness of NPCI BHIM inspire more people to
explore it?
And what turns that first moment of discovery into sustained
adoption?
The Act I — The Conversation
Sometimes, a new choice begins with an unexpected
conversation.
Mr. Anand Mahindra, a familiar name in Indian industry, had
not been using NPCI BHIM as his preferred UPI app. Then came a conversation
with Mr. Dilip Asbe, Managing Director and CEO of NPCI.
What followed was more than an exchange between two
individuals. It brought BHIM into focus for someone who was already familiar
with digital payments.
Mr. Anand Mahindra subsequently shared that he had switched to
BHIM.
The moment invites a simple reflection.
A product may be available. Its benefits may exist. Yet a
potential user may not fully appreciate either until someone takes the time to
explain them.
Sometimes, adoption begins when awareness meets an open mind.
The Act II — Beyond the App on the
Screen
When we make a UPI payment, we usually focus on the app we
open, the QR code we scan and the confirmation that appears.
But the wider UPI ecosystem involves infrastructure and
coordination beyond the screen in our hands.
The conversation between Mr. Mahindra and Mr. Asbe also brings
attention to the institution behind BHIM and the wider UPI ecosystem: the
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
For a user, however, awareness is only the beginning.
What makes someone explore a different UPI app? What gives
them the confidence to try it?
And what makes them continue using it after the first few
transactions?
The answers may include familiarity, ease of use, useful
features, trust and the everyday experience of completing a payment. Different
users may value different things.
BHIM's opportunity is not merely to be noticed. It is to give
people a reason to explore it, experience it and decide whether it suits their
needs.
Awareness may open the door. The user's experience determines
whether they return.
The Act III — From One Conversation
to Wider Adoption
One prominent user's decision can bring an app into the public
conversation. But a single announcement cannot establish how many other users
will follow, or whether their use will continue over time.
That is where the wider citizen question begins.
Could conversations such as this encourage more people to
discover NPCI BHIM?
Could clearer communication about the app's features and
purpose help users make informed choices among the UPI apps available to them?
And how might adoption be understood—not merely through
downloads or initial trials, but through continued use and the value people
find in the experience?
These are questions worth examining.
The objective need not be to persuade every UPI user to switch
apps. Users should remain free to choose the app that best meets their needs.
Rather, the opportunity is to ensure that people know their
options and can make those choices with greater awareness.
Mr. Mahindra's announcement offers a timely moment to ask
whether a conversation can do what a product announcement alone may not: make
someone curious enough to take a closer look.
The Citizen Observation
India's UPI ecosystem has made digital payments part of
everyday life. Within that ecosystem, multiple apps give users different ways
to access UPI.
The story of Mr. Anand Mahindra and Mr. Dilip Asbe brings an
important dimension of adoption into view: awareness.
A user may already be comfortable making digital payments and
still remain unfamiliar with a particular app.
A conversation can introduce a new perspective, but the
decision to adopt ultimately belongs to the user.
For NPCI BHIM, the opportunity is to build on that moment of
attention through clear communication, a useful user experience and sustained
confidence.
The wider lesson extends beyond one app.
Digital payment adoption is not only about making technology
available. It is also about helping people discover their choices and
experience their value.
Nothing More. Nothing Less.
This observation is not a claim that BHIM is superior to every
other UPI app, nor that users should abandon the apps they already prefer.
It is not a prediction that one prominent user's switch will
automatically lead to widespread adoption.
It is an invitation to consider the role of awareness in
digital behaviour—and how a conversation can encourage someone to explore a
choice they had not previously considered.
One conversation has brought BHIM into focus. What the wider
ecosystem does with that moment is the next question.
Nothing More. Nothing Less.
The Closing Thought
A conversation can introduce a possibility.
An experience can earn confidence.
And a choice, freely made, can become a habit.
Could one conversation inspire a million new discoveries?
The million represents an aspiration to encourage
discovery—not a prediction of downloads, switches or active users.
The opportunity is to make more people aware of their choices
and let their experience shape what follows.
The One observation at a time.
April 11 — Digital Transactions Day
(Proposed)
Digital progress is not measured only by the systems we build.
It is also shaped by how well people understand, trust and use them.
The conversation around NPCI BHIM is one reminder that
awareness can be part of the journey from availability to adoption.
April 11 is proposed as Digital Transactions Day—a day to
recognise the role of digital transactions in everyday life and encourage
informed, confident participation in the digital economy.
Explore the proposal: https://movethebarrier.blogspot.com/
Disclaimer
This is an independent citizen observation prompted by Business
Today's report on Mr. Anand Mahindra's decision to switch to BHIM following
a conversation with Mr. Dilip Asbe.
The observation does not independently verify the conversation
or assess BHIM against other UPI apps.
Any wider adoption impact remains uncertain. No app is
endorsed as universally preferable; the purpose is to reflect on awareness,
user choice and digital payment adoption.
As it is UPI is wonderful, the actual debit happens in the
linked bank account or other instrument, via any UPI App.
This is the core differentiator
of the UPI design.
The Joy of Digital Transactions
Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)
https://in.linkedin.com/in/prashantnayakanti
Author’s Blogs
https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com
