NEW DELHI — India’s primary digital payment backbone, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), suffered a significant nationwide disruption on Tuesday evening, February 10, 2026. The outage, which peaked around 7:00 PM IST, left millions of users unable to complete essential transactions at grocery stores, fuel stations, and online checkouts.
While the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has yet to issue a final post-mortem, initial reports suggest the disruption was caused by intermittent technical issues at the server level, exacerbated by peak-hour traffic.
1. Scope of the Disruption
The outage was not localized, with major urban hubs bearing the brunt of the failure. According to data from Downdetector, reports surged from the following cities:
- Tier-1 Cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.
- Tier-2 Cities: Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh also flagged significant clusters of failed transactions.
Impact Breakdown (per Downdetector):
- 82% of users reported total payment failure.
- 12% experienced errors while scanning QR codes.
- 6% faced issues with direct peer-to-peer (P2P) fund transfers.
2. Affected Apps and Error Messages
Users reported that almost all major third-party application providers (TPAPs) were hit by the snag.
- Primary Apps: Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm.
- Common Errors: Users were met with prompts like “Service provider not available,” “Bank server down,” or simply timed-out screens.
- Bank-Specific Snags: Customers of major lenders including SBI, HDFC, and ICICI reported that while their mobile banking apps were functional, the UPI gateway remained unresponsive.
3. Why is this Happening?
While technical glitches are the immediate cause, experts point to several systemic factors impacting UPI in early 2026:
- High Transaction Volume: UPI transactions surpassed 17 billion in January 2026, putting immense pressure on legacy banking infrastructure.
- Maintenance Windows: SBI recently announced scheduled maintenance for early February, and intermittent “wobbles” often occur during such updates.
- New API Guidelines: The NPCI recently enforced stricter API response time limits (10 seconds) to improve speed, but this has occasionally led to “hard failures” when banks cannot meet the window during high-traffic periods.
4. What to Do if Your Money is Deducted
If your transaction failed but the amount was debited from your bank account:
- Wait for Auto-Reversal: Most failed transactions are reversed within T+1 business day (Transaction day + 1).
- Check “UPI Lite”: Users with UPI Lite enabled reported higher success rates during the outage, as it handles small-value offline-like transactions without hitting core banking servers.
- Claim Compensation: Under RBI guidelines, if a failed transaction isn’t reversed within the stipulated time, you may be eligible for a ₹100 per day compensation from your bank.