83% of digital payment users face monthly disruptions due to poor mobile networks: Survey

India’s rapid shift to digital payments is running into a growing reliability challenge, with 83% of mobile internet users who conduct banking or payment transactions reporting at least one disruption every month due to poor network quality, according to a LocalCircles survey.

The share has risen sharply from 58% in 2024 and 68% in 2022, even as consumers increasingly depend on mobile data for financial transactions. The survey found that 91% of 3G, 4G and 5G users who make digital payments or conduct banking transactions use mobile data, up from 85% in 2024 and 62% in 2022.

The findings are based on more than 52,000 responses from mobile internet users across 325 districts, highlighting the growing importance of network reliability as digital payments become embedded in everyday transactions.

More than a third see frequent payment failures

The survey also points to a significant incidence of transaction failures. 34% of respondents said up to 10% of their monthly digital payment transactions fail because of poor network quality, while 12% reported failure rates of 10-20%.

Another 33% said 20-50% of their transactions fail, while 4% said more than half of their monthly transactions do not go through. Taken together, 37% of users face network-related failures in more than a fifth of their monthly digital payment transactions.

The broader connectivity experience is also a concern. 87% of respondents said they regularly face either connection disruptions or speed-related problems. Low speed was identified as the top issue by 50% of users, while 37% cited frequent network disruptions.

“India’s digital payments problem is no longer one of adoption but one of dependability,” LocalCircles said in the report.

UPI growth puts spotlight on network reliability

The findings come as digital payment volumes continue to surge. UPI processed a record 23.66 billion transactions worth ₹29.88 lakh crore in July 2026, accounting for 81% of all retail digital payments. India’s wireless subscriber base crossed 1.3 billion in June 2026.

However, fewer users have access to a fixed-line fallback. Just 7% of respondents rely on broadband, DSL or fibre for financial transactions, down from 12% in 2024.

LocalCircles has urged TRAI, the Department of Telecommunications, RBI, NPCI and MeitY to introduce transaction-level failure attribution, allowing users to determine whether a failed payment was caused by a bank, payment system or telecom network.

It has also called for faster deployment of offline and low-bandwidth payment solutions, including NPCI’s proposed UPI Lite tap-and-pay facility for transactions of up to ₹2,000.