There was a major problem today with PhonePe, the app used for making quick payments through UPI. Many users found that they could not complete their transactions. Reports of the issue were widely shared, with about 850 people mentioning problems on a website that tracks service outages. Most users were having trouble sending money, while some faced issues with the apps themselves. According to Downdetector, more than 62 percent of users are reporting problems with fund transfers, while 21 percent are facing issues with the application, and only 17 percent are experiencing payment difficulties. If you're dealing with similar issues, you can visit Downdetector to report any UPI disruptions you encounter.
This is the first time PhonePe has experienced an outage this month. However, UPI faced significant outages more than twice last month. At that time, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) attributed the outages to multiple requests from a bank to 'check transaction status,' which overwhelmed the system. This time, UPI services were functioning well; however, PhonePe experienced a glitch in its system.
This disruption comes at a time when India is engaged in a conflict with Pakistan, and the finance ministry has urged all financial institutions, including NPCI, to stay vigilant as Pakistani hackers are attempting cyberattacks on the country's financial infrastructure. PhonePe CTO Rahul Chari in an X post attributed the problem to steps taken as precautinery majors considering India-Pakistan tension.
He said that due to the escalation of the conflict the previous week, PhonePe announced that they had initiated active disaster recovery drills and implemented heightened cybersecurity measures on their network firewall. He reported that, as of the evening, 100 percent of the traffic across all their services was being routed through a new data center. However, they noted that the peak traffic on Monday evening exposed a shortfall in network capacity, which caused some transactions to fail.
He mentioned that they had rebalanced the traffic across their other sites and were beginning to see recovery. The company also expressed their apologies for the inconvenience and assured that they would learn from this incident to further strengthen their systems.
In response to ongoing frustrations, users have taken to X to vent their feelings and share their experiences. Many have found humor in the situation, posting memes, videos, and their thoughts under the hashtag #UPIdown. We’re compiling some of the funniest memes, videos, and other content shared by users who are playfully criticizing Paytm, PhonePe, and Gpay.
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