IIT Madras-incubated Muse Wearables partners with NPCI to launch India’s first wearable payments ecosystem

Muse Wearables, which started its journey from IIT-Madras, has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch India’s first wearable payment ecosystem powered by Muse Wallet and NPCI’s trusted RuPay network.

The new ecosystem allows users to make instant, secure payments by tapping the Smart Ring ‘Ring One’ on any NFC-enabled POS terminal, without requiring a phone, card or wallet. Muse Wallet, which currently operates in more than 40 countries and supports cards of nearly 600 banks, is now bringing its platform to India through RuPay. The platform aims to make digital payments simple, secure and accessible for millions of users, including those in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

Muse Wearables partners with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) | Photo Credit: Special Editing

Muse Wallet allows any RuPay credit or debit card to be converted into a secure digital token and stored directly in a tamper-proof Secure Element (SE) chip; This is the same level of hardware security as used in bank cards and passports. The company claims that this will ensure that sensitive credentials are completely isolated from the phone’s operating system or applications. Muse Wearables has started onboarding banks into Muse Wallet and aims to support all card issuers in India.

How does it work?

Users add their RuPay card to the Muse App by scanning or manually logging in. Muse Wallet communicates with the Rupay card network and the card-issuing bank to generate a unique token for that card. The token is securely transmitted to the Secure Element inside Ring One, where it is encrypted and stored. When the ring is tapped on an NFC terminal, the Secure Element executes the transaction without ever revealing the actual card number. This isolation at the hardware level makes Muse Wallet a new benchmark for wearable security in India. Payments only work when the ring is worn; Removing the ring immediately disables transactions. If the ring is lost or stolen, the token remains dormant and useless without authenticated context.

Sai Prasanth, Co-Founder and CEO of Muse Wearables, KLN, said: “We are taking on foreign tech giants in the digital wallet ecosystem by creating a truly dominant alternative for India. We aim to enable millions of RuPay cardholders to experience the convenience of wearable payments in the next two years.”

“The global response to Muse Ring One Payments has been phenomenal. We are already live on the Mastercard network in 40 countries and 600 banks,” said Sahil Ajay Choudhary, VP of Global Business at Muse Wearables.

Prathyusha Kamarajugadda, Co-Founder and COO, Muse Wearables, said: “With Muse Wallet, we are building India’s first Secure Element Tokenization Platform, allowing users to add any RuPay card and pay instantly – no need for a phone, no wallet, just a ringtone.”