Could Tomorrow’s Computers Break Today’s Payment Security? RBI Wants India Ready

India’s vast digital payments ecosystem may need to start preparing for a threat that has not yet fully arrived.

Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Shirish Chandra Murmu has called for Indian payment system providers and network operators to begin making their infrastructure “quantum-proof”, warning that advances in quantum computing could eventually challenge the cryptographic systems that protect today’s financial networks.

Speaking at the Global FinTech Fest 2026 in Mumbai, Murmu said the challenge was not an immediate one. But he stressed that financial infrastructure has long technology cycles, making early preparation critical.

“The time has therefore come for Indian payment system providers and network operators to begin moving towards quantum-proofing our payment systems,” Murmu said.

Why is the RBI preparing for quantum computing now?

Quantum computing promises major breakthroughs in areas such as optimisation and financial modelling. At the same time, sufficiently powerful quantum computers could challenge the cryptographic foundations that currently secure financial systems.

Murmu said the risk required attention well before quantum technology becomes capable of creating such disruption.

Financial institutions cannot wait until the threat becomes immediate, he suggested, because upgrading complex payment infrastructure and moving to new security standards could take years.

The RBI’s approach is therefore focused on preparing India's financial ecosystem for risks that may emerge as computing technology advances.

What is the ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ threat?

One of the risks highlighted by Murmu is known as “harvest now, decrypt later”.

The concern is that encrypted information collected today could potentially be stored and decrypted in the future when more powerful computing capabilities become available.

This means the challenge is not limited to protecting future transactions. Information that is secure under existing technology could become vulnerable if cryptographic systems are eventually broken by advances in quantum computing.

For a country with one of the world's largest digital payment ecosystems, Murmu said quantum preparedness must become part of the broader framework for cyber resilience.

Why can’t banks and fintech companies tackle the quantum threat alone?

Murmu said quantum resilience could not be developed by individual institutions working independently.

Banks, payment operators, fintech companies, technology providers and organisations responsible for setting technical standards would need to work together to prepare the financial system for the next generation of cyber risks.

“Banks, payment operators, FinTechs, technology providers and standard-setters will need to move together, because quantum resilience is an ecosystem capability, not an institutional one,” he said.

The scale and interconnected nature of India’s financial system means that a transition to new security standards would require coordinated action across the ecosystem.

What is the RBI doing to prepare India for quantum risks?

Murmu said the RBI has constituted an expert committee on a Quantum Secure and Adaptive Financial Ecosystem.

The committee is aimed at helping prepare India’s financial infrastructure for risks associated with advances in quantum computing.

He also referred to Project Leap, an initiative of the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub and partner central banks. The project used post-quantum cryptography to replace traditional digital signatures in a liquidity transfer experiment.

Murmu said the project offered an important lesson about preparation.

“Its lesson is about timing: this work takes longer than institutions expect and cannot be done alone,” he said.

Why is quantum security important for India’s digital payments ecosystem?

The need for early preparation becomes particularly significant given the scale of India’s digital payments network.

According to Murmu, UPI processed around 24,162 crore transactions worth approximately Rs 314 lakh crore in FY 2025-26. The platform accounted for nearly 85 per cent of India's digital payment transactions by volume.

As digital payments become increasingly central to India's economy, protecting the systems that enable these transactions will require financial institutions to prepare not only for current cyber threats but also for risks created by future technologies.

“We must innovate not only for the future, but for the risks the future creates,” Murmu said.

(With inputs from ANI)