Jobaaj Stories
UPI Meltdown Leaves Users Stranded; Major Apps and Banks Affected
Digital payments across India faced a major disruption on Saturday as UPI (Unified Payments Interface) services were hit by technical issues. The sudden outage affected millions of users who rely on apps like PhonePe, Google Pay, and various banking platforms to manage their daily transactions.
Users started reporting problems early in the morning, around 8 AM, with complaints ranging from failed transactions to login errors. Social media was quickly flooded with messages from people unable to pay at shops, transfer money, or check balances.
The issue wasn’t limited to one platform or bank. Most users experienced random failures in completing payments or delays in confirmations.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which manages the UPI infrastructure, issued a statement acknowledging the glitch. "NPCI is currently facing intermittent technical issues, leading to partial UPI transaction declines. We are working to resolve the issue and regret the inconvenience caused," the post read on X (formerly Twitter).
Which Platforms Were Affected?
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PhonePe: Thousands of users faced trouble sending or receiving payments. Many couldn’t access the app at all.
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Google Pay: Users reported frequent timeouts, failed transactions, and delays in UPI confirmations.
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Paytm: While the impact was lesser, some users did experience payment failures and delays.
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HDFC Bank: Scheduled maintenance between 2:30 AM and 6:30 AM led to temporary UPI unavailability.
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Kotak Mahindra Bank: Services, including UPI and net banking, were interrupted due to system updates from 1:00 AM to 4:00 AM.
While NPCI has not confirmed the root cause, it assured users that efforts are ongoing to restore full functionality.
What Should Users Do Now?
If you are still facing issues:
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Wait for official confirmation from your app or bank before retrying payments.
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Avoid making large or urgent UPI transactions until services are stable.
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Use alternative payment methods like debit cards, credit cards, or cash where possible.
