Best Payment Gateway for Startups in India (2026)

The case for

• Rate card is public and detailed per payment mode, including EMI, pay later, international cards, subscriptions and instant settlement, so you can model your effective cost before talking to sales
• Issues monthly GST e-invoices from an Indian entity, so domestic merchants can claim input tax credit on gateway fees
• Disputes, refunds, split settlements and payouts are documented with APIs and webhooks, including a published 3 day response window for disputes (1 day for fraud cases)

The catch

• GST is charged on the standard rate even during the zero fee new merchant offer, and the offer can be withdrawn once credit cards reach 60 percent or more of your volume
• Standard settlement is T+1 or T+2 depending on your configured cycle; faster settlement is an extra percentage fee and depends on a risk review
• EMI, pay later, Amex, corporate cards and international cards are excluded from the offer and priced above the domestic rate, so a card heavy business pays noticeably more than the headline rate

The case for

• The full rate card is public, with one flat rate for domestic cards, netbanking, wallets and UPI and no setup fee
• Multi-currency processing in more than 25 currencies, including USD, GBP, EUR and AED, suits exporters billing overseas buyers directly
• Holds RBI payment aggregator authorisation, with the certificate number on the site, and says it is PCI DSS compliant

The catch

• The headline rate excludes 18 percent GST, so the real domestic cost is about 2.36 percent of every transaction
• A yearly software upgradation charge, waived only in the first financial year, is billed in advance every 1 April
• Running CCAvenue through the Shopify plugin adds an extra percentage fee on every payment, on top of the platform fee

The case for

• Pricing is one published number. A 1.99 percent platform fee on every transaction plus 18 percent GST, with no setup fee and no annual maintenance charge
• Default settlement is next day rather than two days, and same-day and on-demand settlement options exist for businesses that need faster cash
• Onboarding is digital for eligible businesses and the checkout is the one most Indian shoppers already recognise, which helps conversion

The catch

• The business.paytm.com address now redirects to paytmpayments.com and the entity on record is Paytm Payments Services Limited, so older links point at a moved brand
• The 1.99 percent headline covers all transactions with no separate UPI or RuPay rate published, so a UPI-heavy seller pays the same as on cards
• International card acceptance is not switched on at signup and needs separate activation run by the merchant helpdesk after account approval

The case for

• The Standard Plan currently runs at zero transaction fee as a limited period offer, against a struck through regular rate.
• No setup fee and no annual maintenance fee, so there is no fixed cost to keep the account open.
• Hosted Standard Checkout removes the PCI DSS burden, with ready plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento and OpenCart plus Android and iOS SDKs.

The catch

• The zero fee is a limited period offer with no published end date, and the offer terms are not linked from the pricing page.
• No per method rate card is published, although the pricing FAQ says fees vary by method and claims the rates are listed on the page.
• GST at 18 percent is charged on top of the fee, so the real cost is higher than the headline rate.

The case for

• Covers almost every Indian payment method, including UPI, RuPay, netbanking, wallets, Pay Later and EMI
• Payment Links, Pages and Invoices let you collect money without building a checkout
• No setup or annual maintenance fee, and invoices for the fees carry your GSTIN

The catch

• The 2% platform fee plus GST applies to UPI and RuPay debit too, even though those carry zero MDR
• Corporate and business credit cards cost more than the standard rate, and the welcome offer excludes them along with Amex, Diners and EMI
• Subscriptions, Route and Instant Refunds are charged on top of the gateway fee, and some lower add-on rates are limited time offers

The case for

• RBI authorised payment aggregator, with the certificate number printed on the pricing page
• One price covers EasyCollect, Slices, SmartBilling, Forms, FeesBuzz and Teller, and settlement is T+1 working day with instant settlement also offered
• Payouts, PAN, bank and GSTIN verification APIs and collections sit in the same account, so vendor payments do not need a second provider

The catch

• No rate card on the pricing page; the actual percentage reaches you by email only after KYC and a signed agreement
• Rates follow the acquiring bank slab for your sector, so two merchants on the same product can pay different percentages
• The terms allow a non refundable one time setup fee set in the application form, so ask about it before signing