Yes Bank crisis: PhonePe services working fine as it moves to ICICI Bank UPI system

PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam has confirmed that PhonePe is ‘back with a bang’ and the platform is working as it should. He added that the digital payments platform has moved to ICICI bank’s UPI.

A watchman steps out of a Yes Bank branch in Mumbai, India. (REUTERS)

PhonePe, a digital payment platform unexpectedly came into the limelight earlier this week due to the moratorium imposed on Yes Bank. The payment service's servers went down as it's UPI was based on Yes Bank, leaving many venting out their anger on social media. The PhonePe CEO, Sameer Nigam also confirmed the news saying that the team is working hard on resolving the issue. Now, Nigam has confirmed that PhonePe is 'back with a bang' and the platform is working as it should. The CEO added that the digital payments platform has moved to ICICI bank's UPI.

ICICI Bank's official handle also confirmed the news in a reply tweet, welcoming PhonePe onboard.

 

Welcome aboard @PhonePe_! Delighted to join hands with you ! Thanks to team @NPCI_NPCI for swift nod to this integration. We at #ICICIBANK stand in solidarity with @PhonePe_ and other partners to ensure seamless continuity of banking & digital ecosystem.

— ICICI Bank (@ICICIBank) March 7, 2020

This move comes shortly after PhonePe rejected Paytm's offer of using their UPI system. In a tweet from March 6, Paytm invited PhonePe on its Paytm Bank UPI platform. But in a reply, the company said that it would've got in touch if their UPI was so 'seamless'.

Dear @PaytmBank
Inviting you to consider that if your #UPI platform was so 'seamlessly scalable', we'd have called you ourselves.

No point getting back up faster, if we have to desert our long term partners when they're down. Form is temporary, class is permanent.

— PhonePe (@PhonePe_) March 6, 2020

Later, Airtel Payments Bank and CRED cleared the air, stating that their services won't be affected since they are not based on Yes bank's UPI. Kunal Shah, founder of CRED confirmed that the services won't be affected because CRED uses Axis Bank UPI. Shah added in a tweet that the company works with multiple banks on settlements as well.

For those unaware, Yes Bank depositors can only withdraw ₹50,000 from their accounts until April 3. This ₹50,000 cap is an aggregate amount across all bank accounts at Yes Bank - savings, deposits or current accounts.