Comprehensive Guide to Payment Gateways in India: Plans, Charges, and Implementation – Bison Knowledgebase

Comprehensive Guide to Payment Gateways in India: Plans, Charges, and Implementation

📅 01 Jan 2026 📂 General 👁 16 views

As businesses increasingly move online, choosing and integrating the right payment gateway becomes essential for accepting digital payments securely and efficiently. In India, multiple payment gateways serve diverse business needs—from startups and small merchants to large enterprises and international commerce. Each provider has its own pricing plans, transaction fees, setup costs, and feature sets. This article offers a detailed, professional overview of the leading payment gateways in India, their plans and charges, technical considerations, implementation steps, and best practices for merchant operations.

What Is a Payment Gateway?

A payment gateway is a software service that enables merchants to accept electronic payments from customers through a variety of methods such as debit and credit cards, UPI, net banking, and digital wallets. It securely captures transaction data, authorises payment, and facilitates fund transfers from the customer’s bank to the merchant’s bank account.

Top Payment Gateways in India and Their Plans

Below is a structured overview of popular payment gateway providers in India along with their typical pricing elements (fees and charges may vary by merchant plan and negotiation).

1. Razorpay

Setup Fee: ₹0
Annual Fee: ₹0
Domestic Transaction Fee (TDR): ~2% + GST
International Cards / Premium Fees: ~3% + GST
UPI: Part of standard pricing
Settlement Time: Daily / 2–3 days (plan dependent)
Notes: Developer-friendly API with subscription and auto-debit support.

2. PayU India

Setup Fee: ₹0 (basic plans)
Annual Fee: ₹0
Domestic TDR: ~2% + GST
International Cards: ~3% + GST
Settlement Time: Typically T+2
Notes: Supports 150+ payment methods and fraud tools.

3. Cashfree Payments

Setup Fee: ₹0
Annual Fee: ₹0
Domestic TDR: ~1.9% + GST
UPI Charges: From 0.4%
International Cards: ~3.5%
Special Features: API-driven payouts and instant settlements (optional).

4. CCAvenue

Setup Fee: ₹0–₹1,200 (varies with plan)
Annual Fee: ₹1,200+
Domestic TDR: ~2% + GST
International Cards: ~3–4%
Payment Modes: 140+ options including EMIs and international wallets.

5. Instamojo

Setup Fee: ₹0
Annual Fee: ₹0
Domestic TDR: ~2% + ₹3
International Fees: Limited support / varies
Notes: Suited for small merchants and digital sellers.

6. Paytm Payment Gateway

Setup Fee: ₹0
Annual Fee: ₹0
TDR: ~1.75%–1.99% (varies by transaction type)
International Cards: ~3%
Notes: Integrated with Paytm wallet and offline POS.

7. PhonePe Payment Gateway

Setup Fee: ₹0
Annual Fee: ₹0
UPI Charge: ~1%
Cards: ~2%
Notes: Strong UPI support and domestic conversions.

8. Stripe India

Setup Fee: ₹0
Annual Fee: ₹0
Domestic TDR: ~2%
International Cards: ~3.5%
Notes: Best for global payments and multi-currency support.

Technical Explanation

Key Fee Components

A typical payment gateway price structure includes:

Setup Fee: One-time onboarding or integration cost
Transaction Fee (TDR): Percentage of transaction value charged per transaction
Annual Maintenance: Recurring yearly fee for platform access
Settlement Fee: Charges for transferring funds to the merchant bank
International Fee: Higher fee for cross-border or international card payments

Note: Some gateways waive setup and annual fees for basic plans and instead rely solely on transaction-based charges.

Use Cases

E-commerce Platforms

Merchants with high transaction volumes and multi-channel sales typically prefer:

Gateways with low TDR
Fast settlements
Rich API integrations for carts, checkout, and mobile apps

Subscription & SaaS Platforms

Recurring payment support and smart auto-debit systems are key requirements, well-supported by providers like Razorpay and Stripe.

Small Businesses & Digital Sellers

For low-volume sellers, zero setup and low TDR options like Instamojo are ideal.

Step-by-Step Implementation

Step 1: Evaluate Business Requirements

Identify:

Volume of transactions
International vs domestic payments
Supported payment methods (cards, UPI, wallets)

Step 2: Choose a Provider

Compare pricing and features. For example:

Gateway Setup Domestic TDR International
Razorpay ₹0 ~2%+GST ~3%+GST
PayU ₹0 ~2%+GST ~3%+GST
Cashfree ₹0 ~1.9%+GST ~3.5%

Gateway	Setup	Domestic TDR	International
Razorpay	₹0	~2%+GST	~3%+GST
PayU	₹0	~2%+GST	~3%+GST
Cashfree	₹0	~1.9%+GST	~3.5%

Step 3: Create Merchant Account

Step 4: Integrate the Gateway

Integration options:

Hosted Payment Page (least technical)
API Integration for custom checkout
SDKs for mobile apps

Example API integration (pseudo-code):


import payment_sdk

client = payment_sdk.Client(api_key="YOUR_KEY")
txn = client.create_transaction(amount=1000, currency="INR", return_url="https://example.com/callback")
print(txn.payment_url)

Step 5: Test in Sandbox

Before going live, always test transactions in the sandbox environment.

Common Issues & Fixes

Issue	Fix
Settlement Delays	Check payout schedule and bank clearing times
Failed Payments	Verify card BIN and gateway logs
High TDR Charges	Request custom pricing for high volume
Incorrect Deductions	Audit settlement reports

Security Considerations

Always choose PCI-DSS–compliant providers
Ensure SSL/TLS encryption for all checkout pages
Tokenise card data to reduce fraud risk
Enable 3D Secure for card transactions
Store only minimal sensitive data

Best Practices

Maintain regular settlement audits
Monitor dispute and chargeback workflows
Negotiate custom pricing for higher volumes
Test gateway updates in sandbox environments
Enable fraud prevention tools offered by gateways

Conclusion

Selecting the right payment gateway in India involves balancing transaction costs, settlement speeds, security, and business requirements. Providers like Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree, and Stripe offer competitive plans with varying strengths, from UPI-focused processing to international payments. Evaluate each based on your transaction mix and long-term growth to ensure efficient and secure payment handling.

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