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E-commerce has opened up a whole new world of consumers, allowing small businesses and startups to break free from geographic constraints. Thanks to e-commerce selling, even a tiny business owner or entrepreneur in a distant area of India may now make it big and gain consumers from across the country and even outside.
However, there is one key stumbling block to overcome before your e-commerce aspirations become a reality. You'll need a dependable and secure payment gateway that allows clients to pay using their preferred method of online payment.
Setting up a payment gateway in India was a difficult undertaking till a few years ago. It entailed a lot of paperwork, a lot of verification, a lot of setup expenses, a lot of technical know-how, and a lot more.
Today, setting up a payment gateway is simple, and retailers have more than a dozen options from which to select. This begs the question: how do you choose the best payment gateway from all of the options?
Don't worry, CreditMantri has you covered! We review the essential features and transaction fees of five prominent payment gateways in this post to help you make the best decision. Here's a quick primer before we get started.
What Is A Payment Gateway And How Does It Work?
A payment gateway is a technology that e-commerce stores use to verify a customer's credit card information. Online merchants will be unable to accept credit/debit card payments from customers without the use of a payment gateway.
Here is how payment gateways work:
- The customer checks out and opts to make the payment on your website/mobile app.
- The customer will be directed to the payment gateway page. At this stage, the customer has to choose his/her preferred payment mode - credit/debit card, NetBanking, UPI, mobile wallet, etc.
- The payment gateway, on confirming the customer’s banking details, will process the transaction. On the transaction approved by the buyer’s bank, the amount will go to the payment gateway’s account.
- The payment gateway then transfers it to the merchant’s bank account, within the pre-agreed settlement time after deducting a transaction fee on it.
Why Do You Need A Payment Gateway?
According to a recent consumer study, 87% abandon their shopping carts if the checkout process is painful, complex, or delayed. To keep existing consumers and win new ones, you must provide a quick, seamless, and improved checkout experience.
A payment gateway enhances transaction security, numerous payment choices, fraud management, recurring billing (subscriptions), and much more, in addition to improving the checkout experience. To summarize, a payment gateway boosts your overall income and brand value by increasing sales, reducing cart abandonment, and gaining customer trust.
Top 5 Payment Gateways in India
Now that we know what a payment gateway is, how it works, and what benefits it provides, we can look at the many options available to merchants. Here's an overview of India's top five payment gateways.
1. Razorpay
USP: Support for 90+ currencies; Ease of integration, Painless to set up and Feature-rich.
If you're looking for a payment gateway that is easy to navigate through, Razorpay would be your right choice. It is one payment solution provider in India that comes with a host of features to meet your requirements. It provides access for merchants to all commonly-used payment methods like a credit card, debit card, internet banking from 58 banks, UPI, PayLater, and eight other mobile wallets.
Salient Features of the Razorpay Payment Gateway:
- Flash checkout – Merchants can access 4+ million saved cards, thereby eliminating the need for customers to retype their card details.
- Navigable dashboard – To seamlessly manage activities such as payments, refunds, invoices, transfers, etc. effectively.
- No additional costs for international payment gateway setup – Razorpay helps your international customers pay in their local currency. There are no additional charges for setting up an international payment gateway.
- Razorpay works on international as well as domestic orders.
- Support for 92 currencies and offers real-time currency conversion.
- You can make or receive international payments either in INR or in the foreign currency of your choice.
Fees
- Zero annual maintenance charges.
- Fee per transaction – 2% for domestic transactions; +1% for international transactions + applicable GST.
- There are no setup fees or hidden charges.
- Zero withdrawal fees.
- Payments are credited within 3 days to your bank account.
2. Cashfree
USP: Supports 100+ payment options; Fast settlement cycle.
Cashfree is another popular payment gateway in India. This app also supports within-the-country and international payments. You can choose from several integration options to provide your customers with an enhanced check-out experience.
Salient Features of the Cashfree Payment Gateway:
- Cashfree offers the fastest pay settlement cycle of 24 to 48 hours, in the country. You can also opt for an instant settlement feature to receive payments within 15 minutes.
- Support for a wide range of domestic payment options – debit/credit cards, 75+ net banking, 6 popular mobile wallets, PayLater, and cardless EMI.
- It supports international payments in 30 currencies.
Fees:
- Zero initial setup charges and annual maintenance fees
- Per transaction charges:
- For credit/debit cards, mobile wallets, UPI: Flat fee of 1.75% on each transaction
- For international transactions: Flat fee of 3.5% + Rs. 7 per transaction
3. PayU
This payment gateway’s USP is its hassle-free onboarding feature with zero coding, which means it is equally supported on both online web stores as well as mobile apps.
PayU (formerly known as PayU Money) is a popular payment gateway service in India that offers payment support for some big brands like Dream11, Airbnb, Ola, Goibibo, Bookmyshow, etc. It is used by 3.5+ lakh businesses in India. This payment gateway provides your customers with a smooth checking-out experience.
A small drawback of this payment gateway is that you might need to pay an initial setup fee to accept international payments.
Salient Features of the PayU Payment Gateway:
- Supports both domestic and international credit/debit cards.
- Support for 100+ foreign currencies.
- World-class security.
- Easy onboarding with zero coding.
- Around two settlement days, from the transaction date.
- Supports both iOS and Android mobile apps.
Fees:
- Zero annual maintenance charges
- Fees per transaction:
- For domestic payments: 2% + GST
- For American Express Cards: 3% + GST
- For international payments: initial setup fees + 3% + Rs. 6
4. PayPal
USP: Well-known and popular with international shoppers;
PayPal is globally known and has been used for a long time. It is available in 200+ countries across the globe, and over 173 customers use it regularly. If you're expecting several orders from international customers, then it's a good idea to opt for PayPal as it is well-known. However, not many use it in India.
Salient Features of the PayPal Payment Gateway:
- Supports payments in around a hundred different currencies; withdrawals in about 57 currencies.
- PayPal wallets can hold 26 currencies.
- All payments debited to your PayPal account will be auto-credited into your local bank account.
- However, you may not be able to use it to receive direct payments in Indian Rupees. Hence, there will be conversion charges.
Fees:
- Annual Maintenance Charge – Zero
- Fee per transaction
- 4.4% + US $0.30 + Conversion Charges
5. CCAvenue
USP: Simple and Hassle-free checkout for returning customers; multilingual payment page in 18 languages;
It’s one of the oldest and largest payment gateways in India. It supports 200+ payment options. Recently, CCAvenue has received an upgrade with new features making it suitable for mobile apps and web payments.
Salient Features of the CCAvenue Payment Gateway:
- Supports 27 major international currencies
- Represent your product pricing in major international currencies
- Comes with a multilingual payment page that supports 18 different Indian and International languages.
- Payment settlement time takes around a week.
Fees:
- Zero initial setup fees
- The annual maintenance charge is Rs. 1200 for a beginner account
- Fee per transaction
- Domestic credit/debit cards, mobile wallets, UPI: 2% + applicable taxes
- International payments: 3% + applicable taxes
Factors to Consider while Choosing a Payment Gateway
Are you still wondering about which payment gateway is the right one for you? Here’s what you can do to resolve your dilemma -
- The first step is to compare transaction fees. Look for payment gateways that come with flat fee charges. You will also have to look out for any hidden charges, set-up fees, and other miscellaneous expenses.
- To compare and study the different payment options that are supported would be a great idea as multiple choices give customers the flexibility to pay using their preferred method.
- Next, evaluate the currencies supported by the payment gateway. Say, if you have several customers from Australia, then providing them with payment gateway options that accept payments in AUD will most certainly help improve your conversion rates.
- Remember that customers do not want to spend time filling up a form before they can check out. It is an added advantage to offer a payment gateway that comes with instant checkout options and sans the need to sign up.
- Another crucial factor in comparing payment solution providers is the payment settlement time. Payment gateways processing the transaction amount quickly will help boost your cash flow.
- It is important to read the terms and conditions thoroughly before you choose an option. A payment gateway that offers you extensive support both before and after the installation is a huge benefit.
Payment gateways ensure security and hassle-free digital transactions for you and your customers. To make your brand stand out, with distinction, in the hyper-competitive online market, it is essential to provide your customers with a smooth checkout experience. Compare the features and fees of the top 5 payment gateways listed here and pick the best one that works for you.
FAQs:
- Do payment gateways charge you?
Yes, payment gateways charge the merchants based on the transaction amount.
- What are the payment options supported by payment gateways?
Payment gateways generally support credit/debit card, Netbanking, UPI and Digital Wallets.
- How long do payment gateways take to credit the money to your account?
The money is credited to your account within 24-48 hours.
- Do payment gateways allow transactions via international cards too?
Yes, most payment gateways affect transactions of international credit/debit cards too.
- What other charges do I need to pay the payment gateways?
Merchants are required to pay an annual maintenance fee for the payment gateways.