The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has signed a multi-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, to conduct joint research on blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. This collaboration will establish the “NPCI-IISc Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Deep Tech Research and Development” to drive innovation in the payment landscape. Vishal Kanvaty, NPCI’s CTO, emphasized the importance of this partnership in advancing digital sustainability. The focus areas include scalable blockchain platforms, multi-modal analytics over fintech data, and solving complex technological challenges. Faculty members from various departments at IISc will collaborate with NPCI researchers to address practical issues.