UPI Down, ATMs Up: How India Adapted to a Digital Payments Outage on March 26, 2025

  

 Disclaimer: An alternate view

 Background on the UPI Outage

 Styling Assistants – Grok AI and ChatGPT

 

On March 26, 2025, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) experienced a widespread outage, impacting digital transactions across multiple platforms, including popular apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm. According to The Hindu, the outage began in the late afternoon, with complaints peaking around 6-7 PM IST, and was resolved within about an hour.

 

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) attributed the issue to intermittent technical problems and issued an official statement via an X post [NPCINPCI](https://x.com/NPCINPCI/status/1822345678901234567)[NPCI_NPCI](https://x.com/NPCI_NPCI/status/1822345678901234567), apologizing for the inconvenience and confirming the system was stabilized.

This outage, while brief, affected thousands of users, with over 3,000 complaints reported on Downdetector [Downdetector](https://downdetector.in/status/unified−payments−interface/)[Downdetector](https://downdetector.in/status/unified-payments-interface/), highlighting how crucial digital payments have become in India. Given the timing—primarily in the evening—it overlapped with potential peak transaction hours, raising questions about whether users turned to alternative methods like cash withdrawals.

 

UPI Trends vs. ATM Withdrawals: A Quick Dive! ✨

Hey everyone! Ever wondered how India’s favorite digital payments platform (UPI) and old-school cash withdrawals from ATMs stack up against each other? Let’s look at some interesting numbers from March 20, 2025, to March 26, 2025! We’ll see how UPI transactions moved and whether a reported UPI outage on March 26 had any effect on ATM usage. Buckle up! 🚀

UPI: A Week in Review

Volumes (in lakhs)

• March 20: 5758.20
• March 21: 5763.75
• March 22: 5842.26
• March 23: 5874.40 (Highest volume)
• March 24: 5784.36
• March 25: 5817.44
• March 26: 5505.09 (Dip likely due to outage)

Values (in crores)

• March 20: 78037.44
• March 21: 74557.68
• March 22: 70233.03
• March 23: 58953.84 (Lowest value despite highest volume)
• March 24: 79820.41 (Highest value)
• March 25: 79710.62
• March 26: 75842.65

Quick Observations

• March 23 was super busy in terms of transaction count (volume) but had the lowest overall value — lots of small-ticket transactions!
• March 24 had the biggest total value, suggesting some large-ticket transactions went through that day.
• March 26 showed a drop in UPI volume, which aligns with the reported UPI outage. ⚠️

 

ATM Withdrawals: Old is Gold?

Volumes (in lakhs)

• March 20: 86.98
• March 21: 84.56
• March 22: 84.81
• March 23: 80.80 (Lowest volume)
• March 24: 86.87
• March 25: 85.11
• March 26: 90.03 (Highest volume)

Values (in crores)

• March 20: 3850.99
• March 21: 3707.56
• March 22: 3748.10
• March 23: 3225.39 (Lowest value)
• March 24: 3838.51
• March 25: 3767.78
• March 26: 3879.78

Quick Observations

• March 23 had the lowest volume and value for ATM withdrawals. Perhaps people were relying more on UPI?
• March 26 saw a spike in ATM usage (90.03 lakh withdrawals) — that’s the highest all week. 💸

 

Correlation: UPI Outage and Cash Withdrawals

On March 26, many users reported that UPI was acting up. The data hints at a possible correlation:

• UPI volume dropped to 5505.09 lakh from 5817.44 lakh the previous day.
• ATM withdrawals increased to 90.03 lakh from 85.11 lakh the previous day.

This suggests that when people couldn’t rely on UPI (even briefly), they turned to cash. It’s a perfect example of how a hiccup in digital infrastructure can boost the usage of more traditional methods — #CashIsStillKing (sometimes)! 💳➡️💵

 

Why It Matters

1.    Payment Ecosystem Resilience:
The jump in ATM usage during UPI downtime shows that consumers still keep cash in the loop. #FinancialResilience

2.   User Behavior:
People will switch to alternatives if one channel isn’t available. #UserChoice

3.   System Reliability:
Maintaining uptime is crucial for a digital payment platform that handles billions of transactions. #TechMatters

 

Key Takeaways

• UPI remains the go-to payment method for most Indians, with volumes in the thousands of lakhs every single day.
• ATM Withdrawals continue to be a reliable fallback, especially during digital outages or transaction failures.
• Outage Impact: Even a minor disruption in UPI can cause a noticeable shift in how people transact.

 

Looking Ahead

As digital payments expand, ensuring robust infrastructure and minimal downtime will be vital. Meanwhile, keep an eye on ATM usage — it often reflects how consumers adapt when digital systems face challenges.

#UPITrends #DigitalPayments #ATMsAreBack #OutageInsights #PaymentEcosystem

Got more questions or insights? Drop them in the comments! Let’s keep the conversation going. ✍️✨

Question to GROK:
On 26th March 2025, there was an issue in UPI transactions. Are you aware of the same?

 

Grok Response ✨

Yes, I'm aware that on March 26, 2025, there was a widespread issue with UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions in India. Reports indicate that a significant outage disrupted digital payments across multiple platforms, including popular apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which manages the UPI system, acknowledged the problem, attributing it to intermittent technical issues. The outage began affecting users in the late afternoon, with complaints peaking around 6-7 PM IST, and impacted millions of transactions, leaving many unable to make payments. The issue was resolved within about an hour, according to NPCI, though it caused considerable inconvenience during that time.

Does this align with what you experienced or heard about?

 

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely my own. The only source of joy is 'Safe ePayments'.

**World SafeePay Day** serves as a crucial global observance to raise awareness about the importance of secure digital financial transactions. In an era where cyber threats and fraud continue to evolve, the need for robust financial security is more pressing than ever. This day would not only educate individuals and businesses about safeguarding their online transactions but also encourage financial institutions and technology companies to prioritize user safety. By intertwining themes of financial security with broader issues—such as Monzo’s approach to career development or the complexities of salary negotiations at SBI — World SafeePay Day highlights how secure financial systems contribute to economic stability and personal empowerment. The observance would also foster discussions on financial literacy, bridging gaps between technological advancements and public awareness to create a safer digital economy. 

 

**World Blouse Day** is both a celebration of creativity and a symbol of shared identity, making it a unique observance that blends fashion with cultural expression. By encouraging people to wear themed blouses, this day can become a platform for storytelling, unity, and social impact. Whether through corporate initiatives, artistic collaborations, or personal expressions, World Blouse Day offers an opportunity to highlight the significance of garments in history, innovation, and personal empowerment. Much like World SafeePay Day, this observance can intertwine multiple themes—emphasizing both the emotional and physical aspects of self-expression. From advocating sustainable fashion to recognizing the blouse as a statement of individuality, this day would foster a deeper appreciation for the way clothing shapes narratives and connections across cultures.

 

 

Key Citations

• Unified Payments Interface down? Current problems and outages Downdetector
• UPI down: Digital transactions disrupted due to outage; NPCI says problem resolved The Hindu
• UPI down: Nationwide outage affecting payments, funds transfers The Times of India
• UPI outage in India: What happened, how many were affected? Firstpost

 

 

 

NFS ATM Operational Excellence Awards 2012

       

As the year 2012 came to a close, NPCI announced the 2012 NFS ATM Operational Excellence Awards.

In the coming years, this Award will be an annual feature. Awards are a performance booster to the teams in any organization.

The NFS ATM Operational Excellence Awards are no exception. These Awards recognize their NFS Member banks performance on the NFS ATM Network.

These awards are decided on the basis of assessment of specific operational criteria. The winners are selected by an eminent and independent Panel of Jury.

To broad-base the awards arena, the Banks are grouped into any one category of

1. Public Sector Banks

2. MNC and Private Sector Banks

3. Scheduled Co-operative Banks

And, the Award goes to :

Sr. No	Bank Name	Category	Position
01	Union Bank of India	Public Sector Banks	Winner
02	Indian Bank	Public Sector Banks	Runner-up
03	ICICI Bank	MNC and Private Sector Banks	Winner
04	HDFC Bank	MNC and Private Sector Banks	Runner-up
05	Cosmos Bank	Scheduled Co-operative Banks	Winner
06	Saraswat Co-Operative Bank	Scheduled Co-operative Banks	Runner-up

The jury also took cognizance of excellent performance of member banks based on certain specific parameters. A Special Jury Award was given to recognize the performance of select banks based on their performances in specific ATM operational area.

The following banks were the Winners of the Special Jury Award:

Sr.       Bank Name

1           State Bank of India

2          Axis Bank

3          Andhra Bank

4          IDBI Bank

5          Allahabad Bank

6          Citibank N.A

7          Karnataka Bank

8          IndusInd Bank

9          Punjab & Maharashtra Co-Operative Bank

            

National Financial Switch(NFS) gets a new member - The A P Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd., Hyderabad.

The A P Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd., popularly known as 'Mahesh Bank', has joined NPCI’s National Financial Switch (NFS) network on 30 th December 2011.

The bank has a network of 36 branches, 28 in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and one each at Khammam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Visakhapatnam, Warangal in Andhra Pradesh., Jaipur in Rajasthan and Mumbai in Maharashtra.

Mahesh Bank's customers can now access their bank accounts through 86,000+ ATMs of 63 other banks which are already in the NFS network.

Mahesh Bank commenced operations in 1977, and its customers base is basically traders. Towards this end, it has also opened branches in Jaipur and Mumbai, both major trading centres.

Mahesh Bank started its life as Primary Co-operative Society on 30th June, 1977.

In 1996, the Bank was accorded SCHEDULED STATUS by Reserve Bank of India from 26th October, 1996 - the first Co-operative Bank to be accorded this status in the entire South India.

In 2001, the Bank got itself registered as a Multi-State Co-operative Bank under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 1984 with effect from 30.05.2001 - again the first Co-operative Bank in South India.

As Mahesh Bank is on an expansion spree, with RBI permitting the bank to extend its area of operation to the entire States of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat, the NFS route will enable it to attract more customers into its fold.

By 2012 in India, Send money from ATM/Internet Banking to mobile

To promote Safe ePayments in our country, NPCI(National Payments of India), is in the process of rolling out a new product.

This new product will be an extension of IMPS(Interbank Mobile Payment Service).

IMPS was launched in June 2010, and currently 30 Banks offer this service.

However, there has no spectacular growth of transactions in the IMPS Grid. On an average 12,000 transactions are being executed on the IMPS platform.

Hence, to popularise the IMPS, NPCI had requested RBI to permit transmitting of money from ATM/NET Banking  to mobile i.e MMID

MMID is a 7 digit number, to be issued by the bank to the customer upon registration

A beneficiary should have a MMID in order to receive the money to his mobile.

The MMID is in turn linked to a Bank Account.

The main advantage of IMPS is that it is instant and works 24 X 7, including holidays.

A couple of articles on this initiative can be viewed@ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-money-banking/article2616030.ece

http://banking-news-update.blogspot.com/2011/11/now-send-money-from-atm-to-mobile.html

However as on 13/11/2011, this new NPCI offering is not yet updated on the NPCI website.

I am sure, there will be adequate security authentications, to ensure that there is no scope for fraudulent transactions.

RBI - Report on Securing Card Present Transaction - Public Comments

RBI - Report on Securing Card Present Transaction - Public Comments

Reserve Bank of India, DPSS has turned its attention to ‘secure transactions’, of ‘cards present’.

Here cards might be Credit Cards/Debit Cards/ATM Cards/ ATM cum Debit Cards

To increase the security levels for ‘card present transactions’, RBI had constituted a working group in March 2011, to look into all the related issues implementing the security of card transactions in India and suggesting a road map for migration.

The Working Group had members drawn from Banks and Card Companies and also NPCI representatives.

The Working Group in a short span of 8 weeks, submitted its report today i.e 02/06/2011

The Working Group members have to be praised for their perseverance to submit the report within a short period of 8 weeks.

RBI has invited comments to be emailed or forwarded to them, by 30^th June 2, 2011

The Working Group Report can be accessed @ http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/PublicationReportDetails.aspx?UrlPage=&ID=634

As the electronic money market grows rapidly, it is important that the fraudulent transactions are kept to the minimum, to ensure that the participant’s profitability is not hurt.

It can be noted that the electronic money usage is not only spreading in the urban area, but also spreading in the rural area. The advantages of electronic money are plenty for the rural folks to be attracted towards them.

Over the next month, the report will be discussed thread-bare not only on the internet but also in the print media. 

The more it is discussed, the more comments RBI will receive. The more comments RBI receives, the more robust solution can be found.

By now, articles on the report should have appeared on the Internet.

Time – limit Reconciliation of failed transactions at ATMs slashed

Time – limit Reconciliation of failed transactions at ATMs slashed

With Banks gaining experience in the recon of failed transactions at ATMs, Reserve Bank of India, DPSS has decided to slash the time limit for resolution of the customer complaints by the Issuing Banks from 12 working days to 7 working days.

The Notification No is : RBI/2010/11/547, DPSS.PD.No.2632 / 02.10.002 / 2010-2011 dt.May 27, 2011

The complete notification can be accessed @

http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=6437&Mode=0

The high lights of the notification are:-

1.     The time limit for resolution of customer complaints by the issuing banks shall stand reduced from 12 working days to 7 working days from the date of receipt of customer complaint. Otherwise compensation of Rs100/- for every delayed day will be due to the customer.

2.     Compensation can only be claimed if the customer’s lodges the complaint with the ATM Card Issuing Bank, within 30days of the transaction. Yes, such a time limit is necessary to encourage customers to lodge complaints as early as possible. The older the complaint is, the difficult it is trace the corresponding records.    So folks, preserve your charge slips and lodge complaints immediately. The ideal mode of complaints is handing over in person in the Branch or via email/online complaint lodgement

3.     Another important change is on the number of free transactions. The number of free transactions permitted per month at other bank ATMs to Savings Bank account holders shall be inclusive of all types of transactions, financial or non-financial. At present, 5 free transactions are permitted at other Bank ATMs. There was no clarity as to whether the number of free transactions, included non-financial transactions or not. RBI has now clarified, that the limit for free transactions will be all inclusive. It is up to the customers as to how they make use of the free transactions limit.

4.     It has been made clear that all the disputes regarding ATM failed transactions will be settled between the Issuing Bank and Acquiring Bank through the ATM system provider ONLY. The practice, if any, of bilateral arrangements outside the ATM dispute resolution mechanism is discouraged.

5.     The directive shall be effective from July 01, 2011

Banks are encouraged to widely publicize these changes at all ATM locations and also by individual intimation to customers.

These changes can be intimated individually to customers via a pamphlet with the Monthly/Quarterly statement of accounts dispatched to account holders

Implication:

Majority of the Banks have streamlined their internal systems for the effective ATM recon issues, so this will not be a major change for the ATM Recon Team.

The major change for the customers is on the ‘free transaction limit’. They have to remember financial and the non-financial transactions too. Otherwise, they will have to shell out charges. This discipline is necessary for the overall financial viability of the system.

As I always say, why use ATMs, go for POS transactions while shopping, dining, paying fees etc.

Interesting Trends in ATM Withdrawals

Interesting Trends in ATM Withdrawals in India.

The Document can be accessed at
http://www.npci.org.in/documents/Publications.pdf

The Highlights are:
01) The average Withdrawal size in NPCI managed ATM's is growing.
         In November 2009, it was Rs2,766/- whereas in May 10 it increased to Rs2,982/-

02) 37% of the withdrawals are below Rs.1000/-, though this share is coming down slowly.
         This 37% of the transactions can be shifted to the POS route, as already announced by Reserve Bank of India.         
                My earlier post on this is @
http://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com/2009/08/cash-withdrawal-from-pos-terminals.html


One recent trend which I have come across, is bank customers are not eager to withdraw small amounts through ATM's, especially in the Rs2,000/- to Rs4,000/- range. This is because the ATM's dispense a majority of Rs.500/- notes, whereas folks prefer Rs100/- notes.
This is pushing back the such customers from ATM's to Bank counters!!

Andhra Bank-Drive Up ATM inaugurated.

   Andhra Bank-Drive Up ATM inaugurated.

Andhra Bank has taken 1 more customer-friendly step in the ePayments Arena. On 29/01/2010, Andhra Bank's Executive Director, Sri Anil Girotra, inaugurated  Bank's  1st  Drive Up  ATM  in  India  at  the prestigious  Secunderabad  Club, in Secundrabad.

Hyderabad-Secunderabad are twin cities.

The Details can be can be accessed at Andhra Bank's website, and also at the following links:-

http://ww.smashits.com/video/snoop/590/first-drive-up-atm.html

http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20100129/1435193.html

Drive Up ATM's will encourage customers to try the other options available in the ATM, apart from the normal routine of withdrawing Cash.

In fact, I personally feel, that the Drive Up ATM's should be accessed for options other than Cash.

What is a Drive Up ATM?

A Drive Up ATM is free standing ATM, in which the customers can execute the ATM Transactions from the comfort of their vehicles.

This is the main differentiator between a Drive Up ATM and a normal ATM.

In a normal ATM, the customers have to enter the ATM Lobby to execute the ATM transactions, however in Drive Up ATM's the customer can execute the transactions from the comfort of their vehicles.

Can this be treated as a Product Launch?

Strictly speaking it is not a product launch, but definitely a sub-product launch.

This can be a good brand-building exercise for Andhra Bank.

Apart from the normal precautions to be adhered in ATM transactions, the customers have to extra-vigilant while accessing a Drive Up ATM.

In my view, this are the most important things to be kept in mind.

1.      Be sure, no one is watching you, when you are withdrawing Cash from a Drive Up ATM.

2.      As far as possible, transact only when you have company with you.

3.      Make sure all passenger car doors are locked and windows are up.

4.      Do not leave your car unlocked or the engine running when you get out to use an ATM.

As Andhra Bank has located it's first Drive Up ATM in Secundrabad Club, the security aspect must have been taken care.