Is money deducted with UPI error ZJ?

NPCI's list doesn't say at which step this code is raised. Most failed UPI payments are not debited; check your statement. If you were debited and the payment failed, the money is due back by T+1 for a transfer to a person, or T+5 for a payment to a merchant.

UPI error codes / ZJ

UPI response code

UPI error ZJ: Beneficiary or acquiring switch offline

Official NPCI descriptionBENEFICIARY OR ACQUIRING SWITCH IS INOPERATIVE/NODE OFFLINE (RESERVED FOR FUTURE PURPOSE) TECHNICAL

Raised by: Receiver's bank. Source: NPCI, UPI Error and Response Codes v2.9, section 3.1, codes populated by banks and PSPs.

What it means

The beneficiary bank's or acquirer's switch was inoperative or offline. NPCI marks ZJ as reserved for future use.

Not fully documented: Reserved for future use in NPCI's list.

Was money deducted?

NPCI's list doesn't say at which step this code is raised. Most failed UPI payments are not debited; check your statement.

When does the money come back?

If you were debited and the payment failed, the money is due back by T+1 for a transfer to a person, or T+5 for a payment to a merchant.

Which side caused it?

Receiver's bank or acquirer.

Type of decline

Technical: a system didn't respond or failed.

If money left your account. Under RBI's turnaround-time rules (circular DPSS.CO.PD No.629/02.01.014/2019-20, 20 September 2019), if your account is debited but the payment fails, the money must come back by the next working day (T+1) for a transfer to a person, or within T+5 days for a payment to a merchant. After that the bank owes you ₹100 for every day of delay.

What you should do

Try again later. Check your statement first in case you were debited.

If you are a merchant, bank or PSP

Reserved code. If you see it, treat it as a technical beneficiary-side decline.

UPI error ZJ kya hai?

ZJ ka matlab hai receiver ya merchant ke bank ka switch offline tha.

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.

See all 216 UPI error codes →