UPI error U31: Credit has been failed
Raised by: NPCI UPI switch. Source: NPCI, UPI Error and Response Codes v2.9.
What it means
The credit to the receiver's account failed after the payer had been debited. That debit now has to be reversed.
It may have been debited. If so, it should be reversed.
NPCI doesn't classify this one as technical or business.
What you should do
Wait for the reversal. If it hasn't come back by the next working day, raise a complaint in your UPI app or with your bank, quoting the UPI reference number (RRN).
If you run a payments business
Follow these through to closure. A debit that isn't reversed is exactly the kind of complaint RBI's TAT rules cover.
Related codes
If it still isn't sorted
- Raise a complaint inside your UPI app. Every UPI app has a help or dispute option on the transaction, and it goes into NPCI's online dispute system. Keep the UPI transaction ID or RRN handy.
- If the app doesn't resolve it, contact your bank's grievance desk with the same reference.
- If your bank hasn't replied within 30 days, or you're not happy with the reply, complain to the RBI Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in. It's free.
Technical or business decline?
NPCI splits declines into two kinds. A technical decline means a system didn't respond or failed: a bank offline, a timeout, a switch error. A business decline means the systems worked and said no, for a reason about the account or the payment: wrong PIN, not enough money, a limit, a risk check. Retrying helps with some technical declines and almost never with business ones.