Summary: Razorpay, PhonePe, PayU, Cashfree and others all accept UPI and cards. The right gateway depends on settlement times, features, pricing and support.
For most Indian businesses, a payment gateway is essential — whether for an online store, subscription app or service bookings. Gateways look similar on the surface but differ in important ways.
Questions to ask
- Payment methods: UPI, cards, net banking, wallets, EMI, pay later.
- Pricing: transaction fees vary by method; UPI pricing differs from cards. Check current rates directly.
- Settlement time: how quickly funds reach your bank.
- Onboarding: documents required and approval time.
- Features: payment links, subscriptions, split payments, international payments.
- Integration: plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce and your platform, plus API quality.
- Support: responsiveness when payments fail.
Popular features for Indian businesses
- UPI intent flows that open the customer's UPI app directly on mobile
- Payment links sent over WhatsApp or SMS
- Recurring payments using mandates for subscriptions
- Split payments for marketplaces
- Smart routing across multiple gateways to improve success rates
Security and compliance
Card data should be handled by the gateway, not stored on your servers. Use webhooks to confirm payment status rather than relying only on browser redirects.
Test thoroughly
Test successful, failed and pending payments, refunds and webhook delivery before going live.
FAQs
Can we use more than one gateway?
Yes, some businesses use two for redundancy or better success rates.
How long do settlements take?
Settlement timelines vary by gateway and plan; confirm them before signing up.
How do refunds work?
Refunds can usually be initiated from the dashboard or API.
