P3P

live

Pine Labs Payment Protocol (P3P)

by Pine Labs· launched 2026-06verified 2026-09-03

At a glance

Layer
execution
Category
hybrid
Rails
UPI
Settlement
Settles through UPI's existing mandate infrastructure (Single Block Multiple Debit / Reserve Pay and One Time Mandate).
Reversible
Yes
Human in loop
optional
D2C fit
strong
B2B fit
moderate
Spec
https://www.pinelabs.com/media-analyst/the-ai-agent-can-now-pay-pine-labs-launches-p3p-indias-first-agentic-payment-protocol-built-on-upi

India's first agentic payment protocol on UPI. Extends UPI's mandate framework so an AI agent can complete a payment after a single upfront user authorization, with no per-transaction human authentication. Combines UPI mandate rails, an HTTP 402 discovery layer, and the Grantex identity/audit layer.

How it works

P3P enables AI agents to complete UPI payments without per-transaction human authentication — a gap that previously blocked every agent at UPI's MPIN/PIN step.

  • One-time mandate. The consumer authorizes a UPI mandate once (Single Block Multiple Debit or One Time Mandate). After that, the agent can browse, select, negotiate, and pay within the mandate's bounds.
  • HTTP 402 discovery. P3P uses the HTTP 402 standard for machine-readable payment requests, providing a standardized protocol for agents to discover and request payment from merchants.
  • Grantex identity layer. A separate platform that provides verifiable agent identity, delegated authorization, spend controls, and a full audit trail. The consumer can set spending limits and revoke or update the mandate at any time.
  • Settlement. Payments settle through UPI's existing infrastructure, using proven mandate mechanisms (SBMD / Reserve Pay for blocked funds, OTM for one-time authorizations) with near-instant settlement.

P3P is live in production with Gullak (digital gold savings). Vijay Sales (electronics retail) is in proof of concept. Pine Labs is working with major card networks to extend the mandate-based authorization to card transactions.

Tradeoffs

  • Currently limited to UPI rails in India; card network extension is planned but not yet live.
  • Relies on UPI mandate infrastructure, which has issuer-specific limits (as reported, banks cap Reserve Pay at ₹10,000 for up to 90 days).
  • Regulatory questions remain open: how P3P interacts with RBI's Additional Factor of Authentication requirements for each UPI payment.
  • Grantex identity layer is proprietary to Pine Labs, creating potential platform lock-in.

Security & limitations

  • The mandate-based model shifts the security boundary from per-transaction PIN to a one-time authorization, so mandate hijacking or scope manipulation is the primary attack vector.
  • Consumer control depends on the reliability of mandate revocation and Grantex's enforcement of spend limits.
  • Agent identity is delegated through Grantex; compromise of the identity layer could enable unauthorized agents to spend within mandate bounds.

See sources below. Documented for commentary and identification only.

Deployments using P3P

No deployments recorded yet.

Sources

  1. [1]The AI Agent Can Now Pay. Pine Labs Launches P3P — India's First Agentic Payment Protocol Built on UPI— Pine Labs, 2026-06-11
  2. [2]Pine Labs launches P3P agentic payment protocol on UPI— The Paypers, 2026-06