Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India’s most widely used digital payment system, experienced a massive disruption on Saturday, causing payment failures for millions of users across the country. The outage affected essential transactions like shopping, bill payments, and business transfers.

Users Report Gradual Recovery

By Saturday evening, several users in Delhi-NCR said UPI was working again on their smartphones. However, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which manages UPI, had not officially confirmed full restoration of services.

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Technical Problems Confirmed

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the NPCI acknowledged the issue. “NPCI is currently facing intermittent technical issues, leading to partial UPI transaction declines,” it wrote. “We are working to resolve the issue and will keep you updated. We regret the inconvenience caused,” the statement added.

Thousands Faced Payment Failures

The outage tracking website Down Detector recorded over 2,300 complaints by 1 PM. Around 81% of the users reported issues with payments, while 17% faced fund transfer problems.

Banking Apps Also Affected

The impact wasn’t limited to third-party apps. Major banks like SBI, ICICI, and HDFC also faced disruptions, hinting at a broader issue within the UPI infrastructure.

Many frustrated users shared their experiences online. “UPI is down again. Good that I always carry cash. Cash is always King,” one person post ed on X. “This is becoming way too frequent nowadays. First UPI goes down, then banks declare their own ‘downtime’ for UPI transactions,” another wrote.

UPI Sees Record Growth in March

Despite the temporary setback, UPI continues to show strong growth. According to the NPCI’s latest data, UPI recorded 18.3 billion transactions in March, up from 16.11 billion in February, marking a 13.59% month-on-month growth.

The total transaction value in March was a record ₹24.77 lakh crore, rising 12.79% from ₹21.96 lakh crore in February.

On average, UPI handled over 590 million transactions daily, with a daily transaction value of ₹79,910 crore.

UPI’s Annual Growth Shows Strong Momentum

Compared to March last year, the value of UPI transactions rose by 25%, and the number of transactions increased by 36%. This shows the continued rise of digital payments in India, even though occasional technical issues remain a challenge.