Transaction Success Checks by Banks Cause Longest UPI Outage in 3 Years: Report
In a shocking turn of events, the United Payments Interface (UPI) experienced its longest downtime in over three years, with users unable to make transactions for a staggering five hours. The cause behind this outage? Non-stop transaction success checks sent by multiple banks to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the governing body of UPI.
According to a report by Moneycontrol, the banks’ incessant checks led to a situation where NPCI’s system was overwhelmed, resulting in the prolonged downtime. This incident highlights the importance of adhering to set rules and regulations, as well as the need for robust systems to handle high volumes of transactions.
For the uninitiated, UPI is a popular digital payment system in India that enables users to make transactions using their mobile devices. The system is designed to ensure seamless and secure transactions, with multiple layers of security checks in place to prevent fraudulent activities.
However, on Saturday, UPI users were left frustrated as they were unable to make transactions due to a technical glitch. The outage, which lasted for five hours, was the longest in over three years, causing inconvenience to millions of users.
So, what caused this outage? As per the Moneycontrol report, multiple banks sent non-stop transaction success checks to NPCI, which exceeded the allowed limit. NPCI’s rules state that banks can check a transaction’s success only thrice, with a 90-second interval between two checks. However, since banks were responsible for adhering to this limit, NPCI didn’t have a way to limit the checks.
In other words, the banks’ excessive checks caused a bottleneck in the system, leading to the outage. This highlights the importance of monitoring and controlling transaction volumes to prevent such incidents.
The NPCI’s rules are in place to ensure that the system operates smoothly and efficiently. By limiting the number of checks, NPCI aims to prevent overloading of the system, which can lead to downtime and inconvenience to users.
However, in this case, the banks’ failure to adhere to these rules resulted in the outage. It is essential for banks to monitor their transaction volumes and ensure that they do not exceed the allowed limit. This can be achieved by implementing robust systems and processes that monitor transaction volumes in real-time.
The outage also raises questions about the preparedness of the UPI system to handle high volumes of transactions. With the increasing adoption of digital payments in India, it is crucial that the system is designed to handle large volumes of transactions without compromising on security and efficiency.
In conclusion, the UPI outage highlights the importance of adhering to set rules and regulations, as well as the need for robust systems to handle high volumes of transactions. Banks must take steps to monitor their transaction volumes and ensure that they do not exceed the allowed limit. NPCI, on the other hand, must review its rules and regulations to ensure that they are effective in preventing such incidents in the future.
