UPI disruption across India leaves users stuck; payments body assures quick resolution

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services suffered a major nationwide disruption today, leaving users unable to complete transactions on leading platforms like Paytm, PhonePe, and Google Pay. From grocery purchases to bill payments, millions faced failures while trying to make digital payments. As frustration mounted, users flooded social media with complaints, surprised by the scale and suddenness of the outage.

Wave of Complaints as UPI Goes Down

Reports of the disruption began pouring in by late morning. According to monitoring platform Downdetector, over 1,200 users had flagged issues by 12 PM. Among them, 66% cited payment failures, while 34% reported money transfer problems. The disruption wasn’t limited to a single app or bank — glitches were observed across multiple platforms and institutions, suggesting a wider issue within the UPI network itself.

NPCI Responds

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which oversees UPI infrastructure, confirmed that it is aware of the issue and is working to resolve the disruption. However, no official explanation for the outage or estimated time for full restoration has been provided yet.

What Should Users Do?

As of now, there has been no official word from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the governing body behind UPI. Major UPI apps also remain silent on the cause or timeline for resolution. Users are advised to avoid initiating new transactions until services are fully restored to prevent funds from getting stuck.

Why UPI Matters

UPI is India’s most widely used digital payment system, developed by NPCI and regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It allows instant, zero-fee money transfers and is accepted from local tea stalls to multinational companies. Given its deep integration into daily life and commerce, even a brief disruption has ripple effects across the economy. The incident underscores the need for robust digital infrastructure and swift communication in the event of outages.