When HDFC bank customers became 'crorepatis' overnight

A few HDFC bank account holders in Chennai got a taste of abundance for a few hours when a technical glitch caused their bank balance to multiply by a couple lakhs - and in some cases crores.

Initially, it was reported that Rs 13 crores each was credited to 100 accounts linked to the T-Nagar branch; however, HDFC Bank stated that the total credit varied from a few thousand rupees to Rs 13 crore for different account holders, according to a report in the Times of India.

The bank attributed the error to a technical malfunction caused due to the introduction of a software patch as part of maintenance and further informed that the issue was confined to only a few accounts in certain HDFC branches in Chennai.

Following the malfunction, the bank swiftly froze the accounts that reported the inflated balance following apprehensions over transfer of money, the newspaper reported. After the issue was addressed, the accounts were released for transactions.

Read: HDFC Bank to pump up tech; expects to handle load for another three to five years

Speaking to the newspaper, V Sanjeevi, an HDFC bank account holder in Besant Nagar revealed that Rs 3.1 crore had been credited into his account following an internet transaction. "Minutes after making a transaction at noon on Sunday, I went to check the balance and found the excess amount in my account. I understood that it could be due to technical error," he said. However, there were no details on the source of credit for the transaction. "When I logged in again in another 10 minutes, my account showed an error and I could not make any transaction. But, by the evening all the accounts were clear," Sanjeevi added.

Similarly one account holder reported to having as much as 13 crore credited to his account, a few others with retail accounts had excess amounts ranging from a few thousands rupees to a few lakh rupees in their accounts.