Curie Money receives NPCI approval to launch UPI service with mutual fund-linked payments

Fintech platform Curie Money has received final approval from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to operate its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) service across the country, moving out of its Closed User Group (CUG) beta phase.

The service is now available to all users on android and iOS.

Curie enables UPI payments to be made directly from balances parked in liquid mutual funds. The platform facilitates instant redemption, drawing from investments at the time of transaction rather than from a conventional bank account balance.

The product currently functions through partnerships with YES Bank and asset management companies including ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and Bajaj Finserv AMC.

Through a tie-up with ICICI Prudential AMC, Curie allows users to redeem up to 90% of their invested amount — capped at ₹50,000 per day — within seconds before a payment is processed.

At present, the platform offers returns of up to 6.7% CAGR on invested balances under SEBI-regulated liquid funds. While positioned as an alternative to idle wallet or savings account balances, analysts note that returns may vary and redemptions could be subject to taxation or market-linked risks.

The NPCI approval comes roughly a year after Curie Money raised $1.2 million in seed funding in December 2024 from investors including India Quotient.

The company said the capital is being deployed towards scaling infrastructure and expanding distribution.

Curie was founded by Arindam Ghosh and Tushar Choudhary and holds both UPI approval under NPCI and a mutual fund distribution licence from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).