New Delhi, July 21, 2025 – The State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest public sector bank, has issued an important alert for its millions of customers. The bank has announced that UPI services will be temporarily unavailable on Tuesday, July 22, due to scheduled maintenance activities.
This temporary disruption is expected to affect regular UPI-based transactions, but SBI has confirmed that customers will still be able to use UPI Lite for small digital payments.
According to the official statement by SBI, the bank's UPI services will be unavailable from 12:15 AM to 1:00 AM IST on July 22, 2025.
During this 45-minute window, users won’t be able to carry out any transactions through standard UPI channels using SBI accounts.
SBI has advised users to plan their transactions accordingly and opt for UPI Lite if they need to make small payments during this time.
UPI Lite is a simplified, faster version of the UPI system that allows users to perform low-value transactions without entering a UPI PIN. It’s especially useful during technical maintenance windows like these.
Here’s how to activate UPI Lite on the BHIM SBI Pay app:
Download and open the BHIM SBI Pay app.
Tap on the UPI Lite section.
Select the “Add Money” option and load funds into the wallet.
Once funds are added, UPI Lite will be activated and ready for use.
✅ Maximum loadable amount: ₹2,000
✅ Maximum per transaction limit: ₹500
✅ Daily usage cap: ₹4,000
✅ UPI PIN not required for payments
✅ Only wallet load entries are shown in the bank statement, not individual transactions
This feature offers a seamless and secure payment experience, especially for users frequently making small-value purchases.
SBI has experienced a few technical outages in recent weeks, causing brief inconvenience to its customers. Here’s a quick summary:
July 18, 2025: UPI, IMPS, YONO, and NEFT services were temporarily unavailable. Customers were advised to use ATMs or UPI Lite.
July 16, 2025: YONO login services were down for a short period but were restored by 11:00 AM on the same day.
These occurrences underline the need for backup options like UPI Lite, which can continue to operate even during brief downtimes of the core banking systems.
Q: Do I need a UPI PIN to make payments with UPI Lite?
A: No, UPI Lite transactions do not require a UPI PIN.
Q: Can I deactivate UPI Lite later?
A: Yes, you can disable UPI Lite at any time through the BHIM SBI Pay app.
Q: Will my UPI Lite transactions appear in my bank statement?
A: No, only the wallet loading transactions are visible in your statement.
If you are an SBI customer and regularly use UPI services, mark your calendar. On Tuesday, July 22, UPI services will not be available for 45 minutes from 12:15 AM to 1:00 AM IST. To avoid any disruption in your transactions, SBI recommends using UPI Lite for small payments during this time.
By staying informed and leveraging tools like UPI Lite, users can continue to experience smooth and secure banking, even during brief system maintenance periods.
