Amid India’s tech boom, a fierce battle is now underway. A number of homegrown and international online payment gateways are now fighting it out to establish themselves as industry leaders in one of the world’s largest markets for such services. There are now half a billion smartphone users in India, as well as millions of small and medium-sized businesses that now rely on digital payment gateways to complete sales, purchase inventory, and attract customers. Whichever payment company can establish itself as a market leader will be able to reap unprecedented rewards. Let’s take a look at the current frontrunners in the race to the top.
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RazorPay
RazorPay is a service that is exclusive to India, meaning that currency conversions and multi-currency wallets are not possible. Nonetheless, that hasn’t stopped the company, which is based in Bangalore, from becoming one of the most widely used in the country. The platform is especially popular among small vendors, as it allows for free invoice generation and the collection of recurring payments from other RazorPay account holders.
PayUMoney
PayUMoney is arguably the most established operator in the Indian market, with close to 20 years of experience in providing innovative payment solutions to users and businesses in every corner of the country. It is the payment gateway of choice among Indian e-commerce giants such as Flipkart, Snapdeal, and IndiaMart, and supports all of the main e-commerce CMS systems such as WooCommerce, Shopify, and CS Cart. However, those 2% fees on every transaction are what lets PayUMoney down somewhat.
MuchBetter
MuchBetter is more of a specialized payment gateway, primarily offering e-wallets to online gamers. However, given that around 300 million Indians now regularly play online games, this makes MuchBetter a formidable competitor. MuchBetter’s operations are split between Bangalore and the UK, with their goal being to provide an e-wallet that allows users to pay for any and all of their favorite gaming activities from a single place. The popular Indian online casino site ComeOn, for example, which you can click here to learn more about, accepts MuchBetter payments for more than 500 Indian slots and casino games.
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CCAvenue
CCAvenue is undoubtedly the market leader when it comes to international payments in India. The platform accepts over 200 payment options, including Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Diners Club. For companies in India looking to accept, send, and process payments overseas, CCAvenue is likely to be the platform of choice, given that most Indian competitors simply do not offer the same currency conversion capabilities and hosting as them. However, startups in India wishing to open a CCAvenue account will have to deal with a Rs 1200 startup fee.
PayTM
Finally, we have PayTM, which is arguably the most instantly-recognizable payment gateway brand in India. This is partly due to the company’s adaptive response to the economic demonetization of 2016, in which they helped support millions of workers and households who were affected by the ensuing cash shortage. Today, they are moving into the traditional banking sector, dispensing millions of their free credit cards across the country.
These are the most popular Indian payment gateways, each with their own unique advantages and disadvantages. Who will win out against the competition remains to be seen, but we will be watching the race closely.