Top 12 Payment Gateways In India That You Need To Know About in 2024

The Indian subcontinent is witnessing a Fintech revolution on an unprecedented scale. Fintech brands consider India and its population a turnkey solution for digitized payment innovation. The country is increasingly moving towards a cashless economy, with transactional transparencies and competitive service charges, among other perks.

Analog finances have dwindled across the sub-continent, given a cocktail of factors, such as:

1. The 2016 Demonetization Bill by the Government of India

2. 750 million smartphone subscribers in 2021

3. E-payment and FinTech innovation with infrastructural sanctions by the Reserve Bank of India, with stress on the 5 Cs:

   i) Coverage - diverse electronic payment device accessibility

   ii) Convenience

   iii) Confidence (security)

   iv) Convergence (interoperability), and

   v) Cost

4. A pandemic-driven shift to contactless and cashless transactions

Current Payment Solution Landscape in India

Consequently, the digitized payment habits of Indian consumers and retail providers have led to an influx of diverse payment solutions within the country. Digital payment solutions are a reliable alternative to traditional cash and cheque payments and are becoming a new countrywide norm. Astronomic adoption of digital payment solutions and gateways has led experts to theorize that the country will spend $1 trillion in mobile payments by the year 2023.

The impetus has further mobilized global Fintech giants to set up shops in India as aggregators for digital financial services. The current Indian payment solution landscape has numerous players rendering different services. These include the following:

• Issuers and acquirers

• Credit card networks

• Payment processors and facilitators

• Independent sales organizations

• Value-added resellers

• Payment gateway solution providers 

The positive shift in the consumer mindset has been critical to monetize with the rapid success of a dozen payment gateways functioning in the country. Currently, 12 payment gateways are pushing the envelope for the evolution of large-scale digital payments. 

Criteria to Look Out For Payment Gateways in India

If you are a merchant or retail service provider who wants to simplify and boost conversion across the Indian demographic, you must choose an option that meets the following criteria:

1. Reliability: A reliable payment gateway can give your customers a seamless, lightning-fast payment experience without frequent and troublesome transactional failures.

2. Supported currencies: A higher number of supported currencies translate into more customers who transact with you in their native currency without incurring high conversion charges. Such a relationship will imply higher sales for the merchant.

3. Payment options: If your business is compatible with diverse payment options, you should always consider payment gateways that support your business methodology.

Also read : "Top Payment Methods In India That Your Business Needs to Know"

4. Market integrations: As a practice, opt for a payment gateway solution that provides native integration services with your retail platform since it helps reduce payment errors.

5. Security: It's best to integrate payment gateways with strict cyber-security hygiene implementation through OTP systems, IP/device monitoring, adaptive authentication, a defense-in-depth approach, integrated Blockchain, soundwave technology, etc.

6.Pricing and other fees: Always consider a payment gateway with low pricing and service feature tariffs to strengthen your business’s profit margin on every transaction.

12 best payment gateways in India

If you are a consumer or a merchant in India, you should look over the following few options to see which one feels right for your business.

1. CashFree

Cashfree, as a gateway solution, has several eCommerce CMS systems, integrations, and low usage fees that add to its credibility. Organizations like OlaMoney, Delhivery, Zoomcar, MedLife, Cred, and Zomato are some renowned clients using Cashfree's services.

Pricing and other fees

Set-up fee

Free 

Annual fee

Free

Transactional fee

• 1.90% when you use Net Banking, Digital Wallets, Google Pay, and Debit/Credit cards.
• 3.5% + INR 7 for Visa and Mastercard international Credit/Debit cards
• 2.95% for Diners Club and American Express cards
• 2.5% for PayLater and Cardless EMIs
• 0% for UPI and RuPay

Accepted payment methods

 UPI, EMI, digital wallets, Debit/Credit cards, and 100+ other payment options

Supported currencies

INR, USD, BDT, AUD, CAD, JPY, GBP, NZD, NPR, and 15 other supported currencies.

Approvals and onboarding time

2-4 days

eCommerce platform integration

WooCommerce, Magento, and Shopify, amongst others

2. Razorpay

Razorpay lets its customers seamlessly conduct automated payments. Its low-code integration allows for quick adoption by SMEs, thereby requiring little to almost no tech support. 

Additionally, as a business customer, you get in-depth business-driven analytical aid in the form of reporting and insights.

Pricing and other fees

Set-up fee

2% Razorpay platform fee for Flash Checkout, Reports, Dashboard, and other features.

Annual fee

• 2% for Indian consumer Credit/Debit cards, Net Banking, UPI, and Mobile Wallets.
• 3% for Diners and Amex cards, International cards, EMI on Credit ards, Debit cards, and cardless transactions), nternational cards, and EMIs.

Accepted payment methods 

NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, UPI payments, Virtual bank accounts, & UPI IDs, Credit cards, Debit cards, cardless, international cards, EMI, and corporate Credit cards.

Supported currencies

100+ currencies from around the globe including INR, AUD, GBP, USD, etc.

Approvals and onboarding time

4-5 days

eCommerce platform integration

Razor Pay integrates with all leading CMS eCommerce platforms given its Java SDK integration builds.

Good Read: Top Payment Methods In India That Your Business Needs to Know

3. Paytm

Paytm is a FinTech aggregator with a widespread merchant and end-user adoption. It has excellent security features and supports diverse payment sources. The payment platform serves as a B2B/B2C payment gateway service to Adani services, Reliance Jio, Uber, Zomato, Swiggy, and many others.

Pricing and other fees 

Set-up fee

Free 

Annual fee

Free

‍Transactional fee

18% GST +

• 1.80% for Net banking,
• 1.55% for PayTm Wallets,
• 1.85% for Credit Cards
• AMEX/International: 2.65%
• 0.4% for Debit cards below

Accepted payment methods

UPI, Debit Card, Credit Card, NetBanking, AMEX/International 

Supported currencies

All active currencies

Approvals and onboarding time

Approvals are subject to KYC completion.

eCommerce platform integration

Magento is recommended but it supports other eCommerce CMS platforms too.

4. PayPal

PayPal is co-developed and owned by Elon Musk. It renders PCI DSS-protected payment gateway solutions in India alongside 200 other countries, while servicing more than 325 million active customers.

Its global presence has earned it a valuable reputation, which continues to help expand its existing customer base.

Pricing and other fees

Set-up fee

Free 

Annual fee

Free

Transactional fee‍

• 5% + 3 INR per transaction

Accepted payment methods

Netbanking, digital wallets, cash cards, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover

Supported currencies

56 different currencies including INR, USD, GBP, CAD, and more.

Approvals and onboarding time

Merchants need to approve the request from their end within 30 days of PayPal approval

eCommerce platform integration

 Integrates with any eCommerce CMS platform that provides an active service account.

Good read: Top payment gateways in the USA

5. PayU

PayU is highly customizable as it helps fortify your digital payments with native OTP and one-click payments for recurring transactions, instant refunds for your business, and a nifty roll-up of all customer transactions for your eCommerce site.

Pricing and other fees

Set-up fee

Free 

Annual fee

Free

Transactional fee ‍

• 2% + GST per transaction

Accepted payment methods

100 different payment methods are supported, including EMI, UPI, net banking, cards, wallets, Buy Now Pay Later, etc.

Supported currencies

Over 100+ foreign currencies, including the Indian Rupees.

Approvals and onboarding time

1-2 days

eCommerce platform integration

Highly customizable and integrable with any eCommerce CMS

6. OPEN

OPEN payment gateway continues to be one of the high-ranking payment gateways in Asia currently. Ever since it’s inception in 2017, it continues to record a high customer base of 3M customers, who use these facilities to manage their business needs. 

With the payment gateway in tow, you use their uniquely styled dashboard to see real-time transactions, make the best use of their security standards, and transact in more than 200+ payment modes.

Accepted payment methods

200+ methods

Annual fee:

Minimum charges are Rs 15000 p.a., which change depending on the scale of operation.

Supported currencies

All active currencies

Approvals and onboarding time

Approvals are subject to KYC completion.

eCommerce platform integration

WooCommerce, Magento, CS-Cart, and OpenCart.

7. Bill desk

Bill desk is a government-owned Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit that is one of the most trusted payment gateways in India. Bill Desk simplifies payments for day-to-day payments and utilities like phone, gas, insurance, ISP, Credit card, gas, and other amenities through its diverse banking services.

Pricing and other fees

Set-up fee

Free

Annual fee‍

• Startup plan - free
• Privilege plan - INR 30,000

Transactional fee‍

• 0.90% of every transaction + 18% GST

Accepted payment methods

120+ Credit cards, Debit cards, Banks, Net Banking, Wallets

Supported currencies

 70+ major currencies including INR of course.

Approvals and onboarding time

 1-2 days

eCommerce platform integration

Magento is recommended as an eCommerce platform to gain benefits from its diverse plugin integrations

8. CCAvenue

CCAvenue is a merchant-centric service that supports the native Indian SME industries, helping them avail of premium digital transaction gateway services for free. It also grants them enterprise-grade PCI DSS certified security and smart dynamic routing.

Pricing and other fees

Set-up fee‍

• Free for the economy package, then INR 1200 from the 1st year

Annual fee

• 2% of all for domestic Credit/Debit Cards, Digital Wallets, Netbanking, and UPI transactions
• 4.99% for all international Debit/Credit Cards
• 3% for all domestic corporate/commercial Credit cards
• 4% for all American Express, Amex EMI, and Diners Club Cards
• 4.99% for all 27 multi-currency options.

Accepted payment methods

200+ payment methods including EMI options

Supported currencies

INR + 27 other foreign currencies 

Approvals and onboarding time

1-2 days

eCommerce platform integration

Magento, Opencart, Zencart, Prestashop, Drupal, et al.

9. Next Gen Payment Gateway (formerly EBS)

Next Gen Payment Gateway is one of the first Indian merchants to achieve the PCI DSS 3.0 compliance standards. It is regularly audited as per ISO 27001- 2013 standards, thereby making it one of the most secure payment gateways in the country currently.  

Pricing and other fees

Set-up fee‍

• Free

Annual fee

• 2% for any transaction with Domestic Credit/Debit cards and Net banking if you have the Starter Pack.
• 3% if you pay with Amex, ezeClick, JCB, Diners, Wallets, and Cash cards.
• 0.3% additional TDR on Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, and HDFC Bank transactions
• INR 7 is charged for fraud management on international transactions
• 18% GST is applicable on the transaction fee.

Accepted payment methods

Over 100 different payment methods including a wallet and EMI

Supported currencies

27 international currencies supported including INR

Approvals and onboarding time

1-2 days

eCommerce platform integration

Magento, OpenCart, Woo Commerce, and Shopify, are among 19 different leading CMSs.

10. Worldline

Worldline allows businesses of all shapes and sizes to register their e-commerce platforms to collect and make online payments via their gateway services. You can customize your payment pages to build your brand, accept payments in varying currencies, and use the modernistic range of real-time fraud tools to protect your business.

Pricing and other fees 

Set-up fee: No charges

Annual fee: Rs 1200

Accepted payment methods

100 payment methods

Supported currencies

24 currencies globally

Approvals and onboarding time

2-3 days post application submission.

eCommerce platform integration

20+ popular eCommerce platforms

11. Instamojo

Instamojo helps businesses pay for sundry digital services like on-demand entertainment services, digital files, tickets, etc.

It helps your business maintain and run a customer-centric retail engagement program with omnichannel transaction status updates, thereby ensuring a reliable experience for merchants and consumers alike.

Pricing and other fees

Set-up fee‍

• Free

Annual fee‍

• 2%+ INR 3 for EMI, Net Banking, Domestic Debit/Credit cards, Wallets, BNPL, etc.
• 3%+ INR International cards and American Express Cards
• 18% GST on transaction fees

Accepted payment methods

170+ payment methods including RTGS/Bank Transfer/NEFT/EMI

Supported currencies

Only domestic payments supported

Approvals and onboarding time

2-3 working days

eCommerce platform integration

Magento and OpenCart are ideal but other options continue to be serviced too.

12. EaseBuzz

EaseBuzz is a rapidly growing payment and market-disrupting online payment solution with 10,000 merchant vendors currently relying on it for KYC-free services.

The payment platform offers an exhaustive cloud-based dashboard with in-built analytical and development tools for API customizations.

Set-up fee‍

• Free

Annual fee‍

• Free

Accepted payment methods

Debit/Credit, Netbanking, etc.

Supported currencies

Domestic payments only

Approvals and onboarding time

5-10 minutes

eCommerce platform integration

Easy PnP CMS-agnostic eCommerce integrations

Local Payment Gateways and the Rising Complexities for Businesses

The digital payments industry is transforming the online payment activity landscape into a user-centric ecosystem. Digital payment gateways are rolling out overlay services, contextual payments, offline payments, and hidden payments, which were a massive help during the pandemic. Consumer inclination toward using payment methods like UPI transactions for daily necessities has increased recently. The local businesses have the uphill task of constantly reshaping the industry to optimize user experiences; this is not just for customers but also for retail/merchant businesses.

There is a dire need for a one-stop payment gateway integration tool with low code requirements that provides end-to-end digital transaction facilitation and book-keeping.

How Does inai help you address Multiple Payment Gateway Integrations in India?

inai is your One-Stop Shop, especially if you want the following:

• A balance between value-for-money payment gateway services and a diverse list of payment methods.
• Multi-currency benefits that boost your customer conversions.

inai is a software layer with global and domestic integrations. It saves businesses valuable time by validating merchant accounts in just an hour. It also helps your business customize your digital POS for a brand-oriented selling system.

inai supports over 50 different domestic and international payment gateways and has a track record of improving conversions by 60%. It aggregates various payment gateways, thereby allowing you to offer the lowest possible transactional cost to your customers.