UPI services down, SBI, Google Pay, and Paytm users affected; check details

Unified Payments Interface (UPI), operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), experienced substantial service disruptions on Monday, impacting millions of users on platforms such as State Bank of India (SBI), Google Pay, and Paytm. The disruptions were characterised by a significant increase in outage reports, notably peaking between the afternoon and evening. Downdetector, a platform monitoring such outages, reported a surge in complaints, particularly related to fund transfers, payments, and app functionality, highlighting the vast reach and reliance on UPI services for daily transactions in India. 

The UPI outage was notably severe, with 64% of grievances pointing to fund transfer issues, while 28% were related to payments and 8% to app malfunctions. SBI, as a major player in the UPI ecosystem, saw a significant share of these issues, with 57% of its users experiencing fund transfer failures, 34% facing challenges with mobile banking, and 9% dealing with account balance update problems. This incident underscores the critical role UPI plays in the financial activities of individuals and businesses alike across the nation.

Outage reports showed a significant uptick between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM, with SBI specifically experiencing problems starting earlier, peaking at 10:00 PM the previous night with another rise in complaints in the afternoon. As users flooded social media with complaints about failed transactions, delayed refunds, and app crashes, the lack of an official explanation from NPCI, banks, or payment apps added to the frustration. The situation is yet to see a detailed analysis of the root cause, although some users reportedly received error messages stating "UPI down in India." 

The incident has not only raised concerns about the stability and reliability of UPI systems but also highlighted the increasing dependency on digital payment systems in India. While preliminary assumptions point towards a technical glitch, the precise reason—whether server overloads, scheduled maintenance, or cybersecurity issues—remains unverified by the authorities. As of now, there is no indication of whether the service disruptions were related to any larger systemic issues or isolated incidents.

Until the services are fully restored and stable, it is suggested that users consider alternative transaction methods such as debit cards, credit cards, or net banking. 

On March 26, there was a widespread UPI outage that impacted digital transactions, causing issues for many users. Downdetector received over 3,000 complaints related to the instant payment interface during this time.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) later acknowledged that they experienced intermittent technical difficulties resulting in a partial decline in UPI services. NPCI has since resolved the issue, and the system is now stable. NPCI expressed regret for any inconvenience caused.