HDFC Bank customers in Chennai turn crorepatis, but for a few seconds: Here’s what happened

A technical glitch at the HDFC Bank in Chennai increased the bank balance of several customers with the amount ranging from a few thousands to crores.

New Delhi: Several HDFC Bank customers in Chennai were taken aback when they discovered that their bank accounts had mistakenly risen by several crores on Sunday, May 29. A technical glitch during a systems upgrade resulted in the increase of bank balance of 100 customers between a few thousand rupees to Rs 13 crore. According to media reports, the incident was reported from a handful of branches across the city, and a total of Rs 13 crore was transferred to people's accounts.

Customers were astonished by the situation, but they became enraged when they couldn't make any transactions or receive other credits into their accounts. Later that evening, though, the hold was lifted.

One of the customers claimed that his wife's account balance jumped by Rs 1.23 crore without any credit entries, and that the excess money vanished by the evening without any debit entries.

“So midnight @HDFC_Bank decided to become SantaClaus and increase the balance in my wifes account by 1.23 crore (no credit entry). Are they trying to do some sort of scam by randomly using a common citizen’s account? At noon the balance vanished (no debit entry),” he tweeted.

After a standard system patch upgrade activity on Saturday night, May 28, a display problem was detected in a few customer accounts, according to a bank representative. "As a result, some bank customers noticed an incorrect amount credited to their accounts. A debit ban was placed on these accounts after proactive discovery, and the majority of them have since been removed," the representative stated.

Customers were unable to transfer funds to other accounts as a result of the freeze, but they were able to receive cash. A particular loop was alleged to have gone awry during system upgrades, resulting in an optical surge in bank balances. Customers affected were reportedly unaware that their accounts had been inflated.