UPI Users Need Not Panic, Here’s How They Can Still Pay Up to ₹2,000 Online

With UPI or the Unified Payments Interface facing widespread downtime, users were left high and dry. According to several reports on X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit, UPI payments failed for QR merchant and individual accounts, as well as mobile number-to-mobile number transactions. While some users said they had to resort to cash, some had to cancel their purchase plans because of the failure of UPI servers. Amid the chaos, some users said they were unaffected because they were using UPI Lite — a digital wallet powered by UPI.

UPI Lite, available across all major platforms such as PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm, allows users to store up to ₹2,000 in a wallet linked to their UPI account for low-value transactions. This wallet works similarly to digital wallets of platforms such as Paytm, allowing payments directly to merchants without contacting the bank. Users with UPI Lite wallet were able to make payments despite the outage. However, the catch is that their wallets were already loaded with some amount. In other words, loading an empty UPI wallet or adding money to it will rely on UPI servers, currently facing the outage. Users with pre-loaded wallets can make payments in the meantime.

Here is how to make low-value payments using UPI Lite till UPI servers are back.

How to use UPI Lite

UPI Lite needs to be activated for a UPI account on a partner app, such as PhonePe. Once activated, users can load money to the wallet for later use. UPI Lite works similarly to regular UPI, allowing users to make payments through QR codes and mobile numbers. After a user has scanned a QR code or entered a mobile number, they will be prompted to choose a source for the payment. One of the options will be UPI Lite, which will let them make payments of under ₹2,000 at merchants. Once empty, the wallet needs to be reloaded using a UPI-linked bank account or a RuPay credit card.

UPI Outage

According to the internet disruption watchdog Downdetector, outage reports spiked over 3,000 after 7:30 pm IST with an upward trend. Users reported issues in making peer-to-peer and peer-to-merchant payments through apps such as BHIM, Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm, among others.

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