UPI Down: Users briefly struggle with transactions despite NPCI’s assurance, netizens flood social media with memes

Several users across India continued to face issues with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions on Thursday morning, with Downdetector showing more than 200 complaints being reported between 7 am and 9:30 am, even after the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) assured that the problem had been resolved. UPI experienced a major technical glitch on Wednesday evening, disrupting digital transactions for hours.

According to Downdetector, more than 3,000 users reported payment failures between 7:50-8:00 pm on Wednesday, with complaints rising sharply around 7:00 pm. Popular UPI apps such as Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm were affected. While some banks, including ICICI Bank, remained operational, others like HDFC Bank experienced disruptions. 

At around 8:40 pm on Wednesday, NPCI acknowledged the issue on social media platform X, stating, “The same has been addressed now and the system has stabilised. Regret the inconvenience.” However, despite the assurance, many users reported continued difficulties in processing transactions the next morning.  

UPI Down: Netizens react  

Social media was flooded with reactions, memes, and jokes about the UPI outage. 

One user wrote, “Seems like the mighty UPI has decided to play hide and seek with our transactions.”   Another, frustrated by the timing, posted, “Why is UPI down? I already ate my ice cream, now I can’t pay. What do I do?”  

A popular meme from *Phir Hera Pheri* was also shared, where Johnny Lever demands, “Maal kaha hai?” (Where’s the money?), captioned: “UPI not working. Receiver—”  

One of the funniest takes came from a user who pointed out the irony of people panicking over UPI downtime despite having little money in their accounts. “People worrying about UPI being down with just Rs. 2 in their bank account.”  

Another user highlighted the need for backup cash, saying, “Never thought UPI’s server would be down. Everyone should carry some cash. I don’t trust anyone.”  

Another user, frustrated with the downtime, quipped, “UPI has been failing for the last hour. The servers are down. Aaj bartan dhulwa ke hi manega (Today, it won’t let us go without making us wash dishes).”  

Quoting a famous line from the Bollywood movie Welcome, another user wrote, “UPI services are down for several users in India… Cash be like, Abhi Hum Zinda Hai” (We are still alive).  

What is UPI all about?

The Unified Payment Interface is a way by which people can transfer money instantly through unique UPI IDs or even just mobile phone numbers. It has been developed by an umbrella organisation called NPCI and regulated under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Other than common methods like NEFT or IMPS, it facilitates consumers to request an amount from anyone- merchants or individuals without breaking a sweat.

The most considerable factor making UPI so successful is that it does allow users to transfer money without paying any fees. Almost every UPI app generates unique UPI IDs based on the respective banking partner incorporated with the user's account. For example, Google Pay users may have UPI IDs with the suffixes "@oksbi", "@okhdfcbank", "@okaxis", or "@okicici."