• Source:JND
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Google Pay, India's premier UPI platform, has yet to incorporate the government-mandated Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI). This news was confirmed by Department of Telecommunications Secretary Neeraj Mittal who noted that this leaves much of India's UPI ecosystem vulnerable to scammers.

What Is the Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)?

DoT's Financial Risk Index categorizes phone numbers into four risk levels - low, medium, high and very high - according to their potential link to financial scams. When users attempt to make payments using medium risk numbers they receive warnings while high or very high-risk numbers could even cause their transactions to be blocked completely.

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The system aims to stop financial fraud at the source by preventing transactions linked to suspicious identities. It has already been adopted by over 50 banks and UPI players, including PhonePe and Paytm, within just two months of launch.

Google Pay’s Delay Raises Concerns

According to a senior DoT official, Google Pay’s delay means that roughly one-third of UPI users remain unprotected, since the platform handles about 30–35% of all UPI transactions in India. The official added that while multiple discussions have been held with Google, the company cited longer development timelines due to its multinational structure.

At the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025, DoT, PhonePe, and Paytm presented data to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, showing the system’s early impact. PhonePe claimed to have prevented potential fraud worth ₹125 crore, while Paytm reported saving ₹68 crore through FRI integration.

Google’s Mixed Messaging

While Google’s India Core Lead Rajesh Ranjan confirmed ongoing discussions with the DoT and pointed to the company’s internal AI-based fraud detection system DigiKavach, another Google spokesperson claimed that Google Pay had already integrated FRI — a statement later refuted by Ranjan.

Why It Matters

As of August 2025, Google Pay ranked second in India’s UPI ecosystem, processing over 7 billion transactions worth ₹8.83 lakh crore, just behind PhonePe. With 86% of Indian households now online and cyber frauds rising from 1 million in 2022 to over 2.2 million in 2024, DoT officials warn that swift FRI adoption is crucial.

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has already mandated all banks — including scheduled commercial, payments, and co-operative banks — to integrate FRI into their systems. DoT calls it a “watershed moment in the fight against cyber-enabled financial frauds.”

Bottom Line

With Google Pay yet to roll out FRI support, millions of Indian users remain exposed to online scams. As competitors tighten their fraud defenses, the pressure is on Google to follow suit and help build a secure, sovereign, and swadeshi UPI ecosystem.