UPI outage disrupts payments for tourists and businesses | Goa News
Panaji: From restaurants to quick commerce delivery, the major UPI outage left tourists in a fix across Goa. Unable to complete payments for food, many scrambled to find ATMs in unfamiliar corners to clear bills.
From Palolem to Pernem, several shack operators admitted that multiple UPI payments failed, creating some tense moments, particularly when customers claimed that money was deducted from their bank accounts. The disruption in digital payments on Saturday affected popular apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm.
“None of the payments were reflected in our accounts, and after a while, I told my waiters to stop accepting UPI payments. It was becoming a cause for unnecessary fights,” said Nelson Lopes, who runs a restaurant near Canacona.
However, restaurants and shacks said that the disruption in UPI payments did not cause a loss of business because customers opted to pay using credit or debit cards. Cash was also used to clear payments.
“It has now become a habit for me not to carry money in my wallet because most purchases are done through UPI. I was shocked today when the restaurant told me that they were not accepting UPI,” said Shubash Kumar, a branding consultant on holiday in Goa.
The impact was felt at smaller grocery stores that often don’t encourage card payments through handheld point-of-sale devices due to the merchant discount rate imposed by banks.
Mangaldas Solanki, who runs a small store at Corlim, had to turn away several customers. While his regular customers were offered credit, those he did not know were not offered the same benefit.
Dr Erica S, a veterinarian based at Assagao, faced a similar situation while purchasing some essential items at a pharmacy.
