UPI outage: Digital payments hit as Google Pay, PhonePe and Paytm go down; social media flooded with memes

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) experienced a major disruption in digital transactions across multiple platforms in India on Wednesday. Users reported difficulties in processing payments through leading apps like Google Pay, PhonePe and Paytm, causing widespread inconvenience.

The cause of outage

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) addressed the issue on X, stating, "NPCI experienced intermittent technical issues, leading to partial UPI disruptions. The problem has now been resolved, and the system has stabilized. We regret the inconvenience."

 Thousands of users affected

As per DownDetector, a total of 2,750 complaints regarding a UPI disruption had been recorded by 7:50 PM. As many as 296 reports were from Google Pay users, while 119 complaints were related to the Paytm app.

Additionally, 376 users reported issues with the State Bank of India (SBI) platform. Most SBI customers faced difficulties with fund transfers and online banking services.

Reports of transaction failures began surfacing in the afternoon, with users experiencing delays, payment declines, and errors while attempting to complete transactions.

Users were advised to check for updates from their respective service providers and consider alternative payment methods until services were fully restored.

Meanwhile, social media platforms were soon flooded with complaints as frustrated users sought answers regarding the outage.

One user on X humorously emphasised the importance of carrying cash, saying, "UPI is down for the first time, and its impact is already visible. Most of us have stopped carrying cash, and this downtime has created a do-or-die situation 😂. Elders were right about keeping cash handy ✅."

Another user, @_amitdangi, expressed frustration, posting, "Why is this mf UPI is down ab ice cream kha lli payment nahi ho raha kya kar (translated to ‘I just had ice cream, but I can't make the payment! What do I do now?) #upidown #pnbdown #bankserverdown."

Similarly, @1992gaurav wrote, "#UPI seems to be down! People without cash right now be like 😅😅."

(This article has been updated to reflect the latest updates)