UPI payment failed but money debited? Banks must refund and pay ₹100 per day compensation under RBI rules
Millions of Indians hit “send” on UPI every day, only to watch their account get debited while the money never reaches the other side. When that happens, you are not expected to wait indefinitely or pay again. Under Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules, banks must reverse the amount within fixed deadlines: T+1 day for person-to-person transfers and T+5 days for merchant payments, or automatically credit you ₹100 for every day the refund is delayed.
A UPI transaction travels through several systems at once. The sender’s bank, the beneficiary’s bank, NPCI’s switching network, and the app itself. A glitch anywhere in this chain can leave the payment hanging even after your account is debited.
The Reserve Bank’s framework on turnaround time and customer compensation for failed transactions sets clear deadlines.
Under the RBI framework, a failed UPI person-to-person fund transfer, where the sender’s account is debited but the beneficiary’s account is not credited, must be automatically reversed within T+1 day if the credit cannot be completed. Here, T means the date of the transaction.
For merchant payments where the account is debited but confirmation is not received at the merchant’s end, the prescribed auto-reversal timeline is T+5 days.
If the bank misses the applicable deadline, compensation of ₹100 per day is prescribed for the delay. This compensation is credited automatically; you do not need to file a separate claim.
Do not send the payment a second time until you confirm the status. Follow a documented escalation path instead.
Open the UPI app and check whether the transaction is marked successful, failed, or pending. Save the reference number and confirm with the recipient.
Raise a dispute inside the app using the help or transaction-specific option and note the complaint ticket number. NPCI’s UPI FAQs state that users can raise grievances or check transaction status through participating UPI apps.
If the issue remains unresolved, lodge a formal complaint with the bank that holds your sending account. Share the transaction details and the app’s complaint reference, and ask the bank to trace the payment.
You can also escalate through NPCI’s Register a Complaint portal, which routes the matter to the relevant institution.
If the bank rejects the complaint, gives an unsatisfactory response, or does not reply within the set period, approach the RBI’s Complaint Management System under the Integrated Ombudsman framework. The RBI’s 2026 scheme came into effect on 1 July 2026.
Keep every detail that helps the bank locate the payment. Retain the transaction reference number, date, amount, debit confirmation, recipient details, and complaint acknowledgement numbers.
While you wait, stay alert. Scammers often exploit the urgency of a failed payment. Customers should not share their UPI PIN, OTP, passwords, or other authentication credentials.
Aachal Maniyar is a Senior Content Producer at LiveMint, where she covers US sports with a focus on major leagues, marquee events, and athlete-driven stories, while also reporting extensively on cricket and global sports. With over five years of first-hand journalism experience, she combines sharp editorial judgment with real-time sports storytelling across platforms. <br><br> Her reporting journey spans leading newsrooms including Thomson Reuters, India TV, BTVI, ET NOW, and CNBC TV18, where she has worked across breaking news, live match coverage, feature writing, interviews, video scripting, and anchoring. This multi-platform exposure has shaped her ability to deliver context-rich sports and business journalism tailored for both television and digital audiences. <br><br> Aachal has conducted and produced exclusive interviews with athletes and public figures such as India cricketer Dhruv Jurel, Indian women’s hockey captain Savita Punia, and industrialist Ratan Tata, along with several emerging and established sports personalities. Her body of work includes in-depth explainers, athlete profiles, emotionally resonant fan narratives, and data-backed match analysis across cricket, Olympic sports, and international competitions. <br><br> She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune, and believes in reporting that is grounded in accuracy, clarity, and credibility. Her philosophy is simple: sports journalism should go beyond scores and statistics, capturing the human stories, pressure moments, and decisions that shape the game and the people who play it.
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