GPay, PhonePe, Paytm Services Hit by Another Outage as UPI Goes Down

Digital payment platforms across India faced yet another disruption on Saturday as the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system experienced a widespread outage. Major apps such as Google Pay (GPay), PhonePe, Paytm, and even banking services like SBI were impacted, leaving users stranded during peak transaction hours.

Disruption Begins Late Morning

The issues reportedly began around 11:26 AM, with a noticeable spike in service disruption observed at 11:41 AM. By 12:30 PM, over 1,800 users had logged complaints on platforms like Downdetector regarding failed or delayed transactions on key digital payment apps.

Despite the growing number of complaints, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) — which manages the UPI infrastructure — had not released any official statement or clarification regarding the root cause of the outage at the time of reporting.

Impact on Daily Transactions

The unexpected downtime disrupted a wide range of activities, including local shopping, online bill payments, and real-time money transfers. According to Downdetector’s analytics:

• 66% of users reported issues with digital payments,

• 34% experienced problems specifically with fund transfers.

The impact was felt most severely in metro cities where UPI usage is highest, especially during busy shopping and business hours.

Recurring Problem

This isn’t the first time Indian users have faced such inconvenience. Just a few weeks ago, on March 26, UPI services experienced a similar outage. That disruption was resolved swiftly by NPCI, but the frequency of these glitches is now raising concerns among users and fintech experts alike.

With the rising dependence on cashless transactions and digital wallets, consistent technical reliability remains a pressing issue. Many are now urging for better redundancy mechanisms and faster communication from authorities during such incidents.