UPI returns to normalcy after briefly impacting few users
A surge in complaints on Downdetector pointed to a widespread outage, while social media platforms were flooded with user reports citing failed digital payments.
)
09:58 AM IST
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services experienced a brief but widespread outage across India on Monday evening, marking the third such disruption in just a month. Popular platforms like Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, and InCred were hit by transaction failures, causing inconvenience to both consumers and merchants during peak usage hours.
A sharp spike in complaints on outage tracking portal Downdetector and a flood of user posts on social media signalled the scale of the disruption. Several users attempting transactions on Paytm received error messages saying, "UPI app is facing some issues," while others reported similar failures on Google Pay and PhonePe.
Despite user feedback, Paytm took to X to dismiss outage claims, asserting, “Paytm UPI is working smoothly.”
Everything’s working. pic.twitter.com/KwyjPe4gkP
— Paytm (@Paytm) May 12, 2025
Meanwhile, PhonePe issued a statement acknowledging the glitch. “Given the escalation of the conflict last week, we initiated active disaster recovery (DR) drills with heightened cybersecurity measures,” the company said. “This evening, 100 per cent of our traffic was being served through a new data centre. Unfortunately, the Monday evening peak traffic exposed a network capacity shortfall, causing transactions to fail. We've now rebalanced traffic across sites and are seeing recovery. Our apologies.”
By the time of publishing, UPI services had resumed normal operations on major platforms including Paytm, Google Pay, PhonePe, and InCred. Official sources told Zee Business that the outage only affected a limited number of users.
The disruption comes amid rising geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan. The finance ministry recently advised financial institutions, including NPCI, to remain vigilant against possible cyberattacks by Pakistani hackers targeting India's digital finance infrastructure. However, there's no confirmation yet on whether Monday’s outage was linked to any such activity.
Also Read:UPI glitch disrupts payments nationwide, NPCI acknowledges intermittent technical issues
On social media, user frustration was evident:
"Are you too facing UPI failure? Been stuck here since past hour. It's failing across all platforms,” one user posted. Another wrote, “UPI Down again. So strange!! This is becoming way too frequent. First UPI goes down, then banks declare their own ‘downtime’ for UPI transactions.”
A user shared, “Went to Lenskart to get my lenses changed, but their UPI gateway was down. They were accepting only cash or card. I had neither. UPI down again! Cash is king.”
If you’re facing issues with UPI:
- Check the official social media handles of your payment app for updates.
- Use alternative payment methods like debit/credit cards or cash.
- If possible, avoid peak hours when network traffic is high.
Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
UPI Down: Users briefly struggle with transactions despite NPCI’s assurance, netizens flood social media with memes 
