Fonepay system down: 20 million users paralyzed amid suspected hack

KATHMANDU: In a severe blow to its users, Fonepay services experienced a significant disruption on Wednesday morning, affecting over 20 million users as all services remained inaccessible since 5 AM. Despite the company’s relentless efforts to address the issue and restore seamless services, disruptions have persisted for over 10 hours, causing widespread frustration among service recipients.

Company officials have disclosed that the disruption may be a result of a possible system hack by international hackers attempting to compromise the payment system algorithm from the server. Despite ongoing efforts to recover the system and resolve technical glitches, challenges persist.

The outage has had a ripple effect on more than 60 banks, financial institutions, and wallet users, impacting nearly 20 million individuals who are currently facing difficulties accessing the direct services provided by Fonepay. The recurring disruptions have left service recipients perplexed and raised concerns about the platform’s reliability, prompting anxiety whenever such technical issues arise.

While Fonepay has become a popular and convenient means for transferring money between banks, the current technical challenges have intensified concerns among users about the security and stability of the platform.

Fonepay currently holds a significant market share, boasting a 99 percent dominance in the UPI (Person to Business Payments) segment and a 62 percent share in the P2P (Person to Person Payments) segment in Nepal.

Despite its widespread popularity, the company faces challenges in maintaining consistent service quality, with both users and regulatory authorities closely watching to ensure improved oversight in the future. The company urges users to remain patient as they work to resolve the situation and enhance cybersecurity measures.