UPI Collapse Again: Fourth Outage in 30 Days Sparks Nationwide Payment Chaos
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) faced yet another widespread outage on Saturday, leaving millions stranded at checkout counters and sparking fury among users—marking the fourth technical collapse in just 30 days. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) acknowledged the disruption, stating it was “working to resolve intermittent issues causing partial transaction declines.”
Chaos Peaks at 11:40 AM
Outage tracker DownDetector recorded over 222 user complaints by 11:40 AM, with failures reported across major apps like PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm. Transactions stalled mid-payment, triggering panic among small vendors and shoppers. “Tried paying for medicines—UPI failed 5 times. This is unacceptable,” tweeted a user in Mumbai.
NPCI’s Battle with Recurring Glitches
This follows outages on March 26, March 31, and April 2, blamed on bank delays during fiscal year-end and “network latency.” While NPCI assured fixes, users demand accountability. “Four outages in a month? How is India’s ‘digital revolution’ so fragile?” questioned a Delhi-based entrepreneur.
Also Read: UPI Goes Local: NPCI Bans International QR Payments to Fight Fraud
Social Media Erupts
#UPIDown trended on X (formerly Twitter), with memes mocking “cashless nightmares” and videos of customers abandoning carts. Retailers reported losses, citing reliance on UPI for 80% of sales.
What’s Next?
NPCI has yet to clarify the root cause or preventive measures. With UPI processing over 12 billion monthly transactions, experts warn repeated failures risk eroding trust in India’s digital payment backbone.
