What is a Payment Gateway?

A payment gateway facilitates financial transactions between the payment portal like a website, mobile phone or laptop and the acquiring bank. Today we live in a global world and payment gateways play vital role in the ecommerce financial transactions. Functions of payment gateway can be summarized as below:

  1. Encryption
  2. Authorization request
  3. Filling the order
  4. Delivery address verification
  5. AVS check
  6. Computer finger printing technology
  7. Velocity pattern analysis
  8. Identity morphing detection
  9. Geolocation
Top 5 Payment Gateways to Accept International Online Payment in India

In today’s world where geographical boundaries look good only in the maps, every second merchant is trading online and majority of them are going global and thanks to technology, merchants have reached and have customer relationships globally. India being a developing country is not far from its western counterparts.

Why required International Payment Gateway?

Indian merchants need to penetrate the global market and in order to do the transactions smoothly, international payment gateway need to be in place for obvious but below mentioned reasons:

  1. A multi-country and multi-currency world: Thanks to the technology we live in a multi-country and multi-currency world where it is important to maintain the relationship with customers. Prospect of customer conversion increases multifold when he/she sees the cost of the product or service in their own currency and international payment gateways let them pay in their own currency. Also display of price in their own currency helps the customers to benchmark the prices.
  2. International payment gateways are well-known: Your credibility as a merchant increases when you embed international payment gateways in your portal because majority of the international gateways are well known.
  3. Provides transaction security: International payment gateways facilitate ecommerce transactions, however they also assist in money processing, client verification, and calculation of tax amounts. Also in order to transact in multi-currency module, international payment gateways comply with PCI compliance standards of each country they intend to transact in.
  4. Helps you save money: Payment gateways simplify and accelerate transactions and plays a vital role in decreasing total cost of ownership (TCO).

However, in order to ensure smooth financial transactions, one must take prudent call while selecting right payment gateway because all payment gateways have different features that would suit different situations and interests’ altogether. Below are few points one must keep in mind while selecting an international payment gateway for his business:

  1. First and foremost thing, your international payment gateway must be equipped to allow multi-currency transactions.
  2. International payment gateways must accept all modern day payment options like credit cards, debit cards, echeck etc.
  3. It should be short and easy to operate through because in today’s fast world, no one wants to fill in unnecessary details.
  4. Before opting for a particular international payment gateway, one must be clear in his requirements and expectations because every payment gateway has its own set of terms and conditions.
  5. Last but not the least, don’t forget to check the transition fees and ensure that the expenses you are going to make, is well within the budget.

Top 5 International Payment Gateways in India

PayPal Payment Gateway

PayPal is a name which everyone, who has ever done a financial transaction, is aware about and it is considered as one of those big names that have a considerable global impact, mainly because it is one of the most popular and extensively used payment gateways. Its worldwide availability and user friendly interface makes it popular amongst online shoppers. PayPal was launched in the year 1998 by PayPal Holdings Inc. which is an American company. Having its corporate office in the North San Jose Innovation District of San Jose, California, PayPal offers an easy alternative to traditional paper methods like cheques and money orders. What makes PayPal more popular amongst traders is its free analytics feature to traders about various ways a consumer can use online payments and thus using its free tracking service traders can target the consumers. Major giants like Apple have integrated PayPal as their payment gateway for App Store, Apple Music, iTunes and iBooks. PayPal has gained popularity amongst Indian freelancers to receive payments and one would need just an email address to receive payments.

PayPal Payment Gateway

Setting up a PayPal account doesn’t need much other than a PAN Card and a verified bank address and even if one doesn’t have either or both of these, it takes just few days to set up everything and have a running PayPal account. Salient features of PayPal are as below:

  • PayPal doesn’t charge anything i.e. it has no set up fee.
  • It accepts both credit and debit card.
  • You have to pay only when the sale is drawn.
  • Transparent transaction charge.
  • As of today, approx 341,497 websites have PayPal as their payment gateway.
  • It supports over 100 currency and if you are a merchant, you can earn in 57 currencies.
  • It has a great and 24*7 customer support system.
  • Payments which you receive in your PayPal account are auto-withdrawn to your local bank account on a daily basis.

CCAvenue Payment Gateway

CCAvenue is India’s most popular integrated payment gateway as nearly 85% of the Indian merchants are availing their services. Its multilingual and multi-currency feature makes it more attractive because its customers can see its page in 18 different national and international languages and accepts payment in 27 different currencies. Launched in the year 2001.

CCAvenue Payment Gateway

CCAvenue supports almost every bank and has earned its credibility as one of the most reliable payment gateways and in order to gain an extra mile, CCAvenue accepts all credit and debit cards and also facilitate EMI as a payment option from over 7 banks, hundred plus debit cards, fifty three plus net banking, four cash cards and forty plus IMPS. Like PayPal, CCAvenue has its own settlement days and it settles all payments in to your local account on a weekly basis.

It also offers a comprehensive customer support system. In order to set up your CCAvenue account, all you need is bank account and time of 3-4 day for its activation. Clients of CCAvenue include MakeMyTrip, ClearTrip, Naukri, AirAsia, Yatra, redBus, Myntra, Snapdeal.

CCAvenue also has multi currency feature and major currencies supported by CCAvenue are as below:

  • Indian Rupee
  • Singapore Dollar
  • American Dollar
  • Euro
  • UAE Dirham
  • Malaysian Ringgit
  • Qatari Riyal
  • Australian Dollar
  • New Zealand Dollar
  • Japanese Yen
  • Hong Kong Dollar
  • Mauritius Rupee
  • Bangladesh Taka
  • Sri Lankan Rupee
  • Kuwaiti Dinar
  • Swiss Franc
  • Pound Sterling

EBS Payment Gateway

EBS Payment Gateway

Started by a French Ingenio group, EBS Payment Gateway is most popular amongst small and medium sized businesses. As a gateway provider, it allows an eCommerce store to use its payment collection facility offered by various banks and other payment processors onto a single platform. Its set up charges in India is 0, which otherwise was Rs 9599. Other salient features of EBS payment gateway are as below:

  • Annual maintenance charges – Rs 2400
  • Minimum annual business requirement – 0
  • IMPS, cash cards and UPI transaction – flat fee @2%
  • Wallets fee – 2%
  • International credit cards on Visa, Mastercard – 3.5% to 6%
  • Multi-currency transaction charges – 4.99% per transaction
  • EBS payment gateway has easy documentation process and one would need a bank account to set it up and one day to go live.
  • Like PayPal and CCAvenue, EBS payment gateway has its settlement period which is approx 2-3 days.
  • Multi-currency support – EBS payment gateway supports 11 major foreign currencies such as:
    • a. Indian Rupee
    • b. British Pound
    • c. Euro
    • d. Arab Emirates Dinar
    • e. Qatari Rial
    • f. Omani Rial
    • g. Canadian Dollar
    • h. Hong Kong Dollar
    • i. Singapore Dollar
    • j. Australian Dollar

Cashfree Payment Gateway

Cashfree Payment Gateway

Cashfree payment gateway has earned its reputation as India’s only bulk payouts and payment gateway company providing wide range of payment options such as cards including Amex, Maestro, Master, Rupay, over 70+ netbanking options, popular mobile wallets like PayTM, Airtel Mobikwik, Freecharge etc. Supporting 28 plus foreign currencies, Cashfree payment gateway is an integrated payment gateway with zero initial set up fees. Salient features of Cashfree payment gateway are listed as below:

  • No annual maintenance charges.
  • No minimum annual business requirement.
  • Credit and debit card transaction fees: 1.95%
  • Wallets transaction fees: 1.95%
  • International credit cards transaction fees: 3.5% plus Rs 7 per transaction
  • Supports international credit cards and payment options. It also offers you with the option to connect your PayPal account and use it as a checkout option.
  • It has 24 hrs settlement period
  • Dedicated customer support from Monday to Saturday wherein every account has got a dedicated account manager to help out with all relevant queries.
  • To go live with Cashfree payment gateway, all you need to do is to have scanned copy of cancelled cheque, PAN card and address proof.

Payubiz Payment Gateway

Payubiz Payment Gateway

Founded in the year 2002 and headquartered in Netherlands, Payubiz is a leading payment gateway providing service in 17 plus countries. Its easy integration and best conversion rate makes it attractive amongst merchants. Giants like Snapdeal, Jabong, Ola, redBus, GoIbibo, Zomato are using Payubiz payment gateway. Once a buyer purchases the desired product from the website or the app, the payment made by the buyer gets collected in the Payubiz account and gets transferred to the international merchant account in its local currency.