Last year, I shared an article about how Mr. X, Y, and Z attempted to exploit a loophole. Among them, Mr. Z managed to outsmart the system and made some profit. You can check out that article
https://www.technofino.in/community...f-2024-turned-into-a-nightmare-for-one.34900/.
But today, I’m going to share something even more fascinating - a loophole, or rather, a technical glitch that exists in one of India’s biggest banks.
This glitch was reported to me by a member of the TechnoFino Community. They stumbled upon this issue purely by chance and reached out to me for guidance. What follows is not just bizarre - it's a serious concern for the banking ecosystem.
Let’s First Understand the Loophole (The Technical Bug):
On June 11, 2025, I received a message from a TF Community member who discovered a strange issue and wanted my opinion.
He was using the debit card of a family member’s account to repay his credit card bills.
- On June 5, he made a payment of ₹41,747 through PhonePe using this debit card to his Axis Bank credit card.
The amount was debited from the bank account and credited to the Axis bank credit card - everything looked perfectly normal.
- On June 6, he paid the remaining few lakhs using the same debit card via Unipay, successfully clearing all his credit card dues from the previous month - again, no issues.
The payments were debited from the bank account and credited across 7-8 different credit cards.
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But then came the twist.
On June 9, out of nowhere, he received a refund of ₹41,747 - the exact amount he had paid via PhonePe to the Axis bank credit card.
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Upon checking, PhonePe showed no transaction failure, and the Axis Bank card still retained the payment. The card balance reflected that the payment was intact.
Assuming this to be a glitch on PhonePe’s end, he immediately repaid the ₹41,747 to the same Axis card - thinking it was a technical error and not wanting to risk a late fee or interest. (Smart move - he had read my post on the biggest loophole of 2024 and was a bit cautious.)
But Then Came the Real Shocker
On June 10, he received refunds for all the credit card bill payments made on June 6 - the entire few lakhs!
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This immediately reminded him of something that had happened in April, 2025:
- In the first week of April, he had used this same debit card for a ₹5 transaction - which had gone through successfully.
- 4–5 days later, the ₹5 was refunded back to the account.
- He assumed the website had refunded it due to a glitch and didn’t bother - it was just ₹5, after all.
But here's the kicker:
On June 9, the same day he got the ₹41,747 refund, the ₹5 from April was debited again from the account - this time silently, not even reflected properly in the account statement.
So Here’s How the Bug Behaves:
- You use the Debit Card on any platform or merchant.
- The amount gets debited from your bank account and the merchant is paid - everything works as expected.
- 4–5 working days later, the same amount is refunded back to your account.
- Then, after a random period (10 to 50 days), the same amount is again debited from your account.
That’s the cycle.
Why Did He Contact Me?
Here’s what he told me:
He’s currently managing a credit card debt of ₹7–8 lakhs and saw this as a boon - a rare opportunity to clear his dues temporarily.
But based on his observation of the April transaction and the recent refund, he feared that the bank might attempt to debit the refunded amounts again between the 10th to 50th day, possibly around or after July 31st.
His concern?
By then, his account won’t have sufficient balance, and the account may go into negative or lien, affecting his banking relationship.
So, he asked me:
My Reply (Sent on June 11, 2025):
His Email To SBI:
On the same day, he also sent an email to his bank, SBI. However, despite emailing the bank and even the AGMs, they didn’t bother to take any action or contact him. This clearly highlights how poor SBI’s customer service is. Unfortunately, this is the kind of customer service we receive from SBI — the largest bank in India, both in terms of capital and the number of customers.
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Update (As of June 19, 2025)
Today, he messaged me again:
He also shared a screenshot showing his current bank balance at (-) ₹5,31,426.
View attachment 101038
He has already repaid a portion to his bank account and will eventually clear the entire negative balance.
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I know you’re all eager to know the name of the debit card - well, it’s the SBI Nari Shakti Debit Card.
Final Thoughts
This incident should be a serious eye-opener for all banks. How is it even possible that such a massive glitch still exists in a bank like SBI, the largest bank in India?
Thanks to this individual who chose to report the issue and allow me to post about it. But imagine how many could have already exploited this bug for profit.
The RBI mandates regular IS (Information Systems) audits, but even after those, how does such a critical issue remain undetected?
Let’s be honest - most people, when they discover a bug like this, don’t think about ethics or the greater good. They think of profit.
A Request to Indian Banks and SBI
Start a bug bounty program - seriously.
This one step can change the game. People will voluntarily report bugs if they feel seen, heard, and rewarded.
And to SBI, if you're reading this - please don’t demand repayment from the person who reported this glitch. He’s facing financial stress and still chose to do the right thing by informing us and allowing this to be shared publicly.
Reward him instead. He just helped you discover something your entire IT and audit team missed.
