India App Quality Report · Q4 2026 · UPI & payments
What breaks in India's UPI and payment apps
On 23 October 2026 we read the 240 reviews Google Play shows on 14 of India's most-used UPI and payment apps. 15.0% describe the app malfunctioning — above the 10.7% across all 187 apps in the India App Quality Report.
Crashes and freezes lead, at 5.4% of reviews
Share of the category's storefront reviews that describe each kind of malfunction, against the same share across all 187 apps.
What to test first in UPI and payment apps
- Launch and the UPI PIN screen on 3–4 GB RAM phones with the maker's battery saver on. Crashes and freezes are this category's most common malfunction (13 of 36), ahead of failed payments (7). Test cases →
- Payment states the user can see — pending, failed, debited but not credited — including switching to another UPI app and coming back. Test cases →
- Scanning QR codes in poor light, from a creased sticker and from another phone's screen. Test cases →
- Alerts for money received and AutoPay debits when the app has been killed by the system. Test cases →
The 14 apps we read
| App | Rating | Installs | Days since update | Reviews read | Malfunction reviews | Main problem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BHIM | 4.5★ | 10Cr+ | 4 | 19 | 8 | Crashes, freezes, won't open |
| CRED | 4.8★ | 5Cr+ | 28 | 18 | 1 | Payment & UPI failures |
| FamApp | 4.5★ | 5Cr+ | 26 | 18 | 6 | Payment & UPI failures |
| Google Pay | 4.3★ | 100Cr+ | 7 | 18 | 3 | A feature doesn't work |
| Jupiter | 4.3★ | 1Cr+ | 29 | 18 | 1 | Crashes, freezes, won't open |
| Kiwi | 4.6★ | 50L+ | 29 | 6 | 1 | A feature doesn't work |
| MobiKwik | 4.4★ | 10Cr+ | 11 | 18 | 0 | – |
| Navi | 4.5★ | 10Cr+ | 28 | 18 | 2 | Login & OTP failures |
| Paytm | 4.7★ | 50Cr+ | 86 | 18 | 2 | Crashes, freezes, won't open |
| PayZapp | 4.5★ | 1Cr+ | 29 | 18 | 6 | Crashes, freezes, won't open |
| PhonePe | 4.4★ | 100Cr+ | 4 | 18 | 1 | Payment & UPI failures |
| POP | 4.6★ | 1Cr+ | 42 | 18 | 1 | Crashes, freezes, won't open |
| slice | 4.6★ | 1Cr+ | 4 | 17 | 3 | Payment & UPI failures |
| super.money | 4.5★ | 5Cr+ | 34 | 18 | 1 | Payment & UPI failures |
Per-app counts are small samples of what each storefront showed on 23 October 2026 (up to 18 reviews for apps with 1 crore+ installs, up to 6 for smaller apps). Google changes which reviews it shows, so read them as a snapshot, not a verdict on an app.
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How these numbers were made
We loaded each app's Google Play India store page on 23 October 2026 and recorded every review shown: up to three per language, in English and Hindi for every app and also in Bengali, Marathi, Telugu and Tamil for apps with 1 crore or more installs. Each review was coded for the one main problem it describes against a written codebook, and a second coder re-coded a random sample blind (92.1% agreement on whether a review describes a malfunction). A review counts as a malfunction when its main problem is a crash or freeze, a login or OTP failure, a failed payment, a feature that doesn't work, slowness or wrong data. Ranges are 95% Wilson intervals. Full method, codebook and limits are in the report.
Cite as: 99tests (2026). India App Quality Report, Q4 2026 — UPI & payments. https://99tests.com/research/app-quality/upi-payment-apps. Data CC BY 4.0. Google Play is a trademark of Google LLC; this page is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google or any app developer named.
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