New Delhi, April 12, 2025 – India’s digital payment backbone, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), crashed Friday night, leaving millions stranded as Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, and banking apps like SBI and ICICI choked on failed transactions. Downdetector logged over 2,200 complaints by 10 PM, with users reporting stalled payments and transfers—some stuck at kirana shops, others mid-ride (Times of India). The outage, the sixth major hiccup in a year, hit hardest from 8 PM onward.
“I tried three apps—nothing worked,” vented Delhi commuter Priya Sharma, echoing chaos at markets and fuel pumps. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) stayed mum, offering no timeline for a fix, unlike their April 2 claim of “intermittent issues” (CNBC TV18). Banks followed suit—SBI’s X handle dodged queries, while Paytm’s auto-reply fizzled. “Cash is king again,” a Mumbai vendor quipped, as ATMs saw rare queues (The Indian Express).
UPI’s scale is massive—14,736 million transactions worth Rs 20 lakh crore in March alone (NPCI). This crash, following March 26’s 2,750-complaint mess, stings small businesses most—80% of India’s retail leans on UPI (The Hindu). Posts on X lit up—“#UPIDown” trended with memes of wallets dusting off. “Paid for chai with coins—2025’s wild,” one user jabbed (post:5). Downdetector pinned 83% of gripes on payments, 13% on transfers (Times of India).
No word on why—experts guess server overload or bank-side glitches (Business Today). With Trump’s tariff chaos spiking costs, digital reliability’s a lifeline. “Fix it or we’re back to barter,” a shopkeeper told NDTV. For now, carry cash—it’s not over yet.
