Are you an e-commerce store owner looking to establish a solid global presence of your brand? If yes, it’s a must to integrate an international payment gateway so that you can accept payments from customers across the globe. Now the question is, with lots of such payment gateways available, which one should you choose?
To help you out, we’ve rounded up the top ten international payment gateways in this guide. We’ll have a quick look at these payment gateways:
1. PayPal
2. PayUbiz
3. CCAvenue
4. 2Checkout
5. Stripe
6. Razorpay
7. Checkout.com
8. Paytm Payment Gateway
9. Skrill
10. Telr
We’ll also discuss some essential aspects related to payment gateways that you need to know to facilitate seamless online transactions.
Xpresslane offers a universal 1-click checkout platform that facilitates safer and faster checkouts while offering completely flawless transactions for both merchants and consumers. The platform works along with merchants’ chosen payment gateways and provides them with an Xpresslane merchant dashboard to help them monitor the transaction process.
Table of Contents
What Is a Payment Gateway?
A payment gateway is essentially an online application that you integrate with your e-commerce website or its mobile application to receive online payments securely. It operates like a secure link between your website/application and the bank. A top-tier payment gateway should ensure the confidentially and security of your customers while improving the trustworthiness of your e-commerce website or app. It should also let you accept multiple transactions facilities such as credit cards, debit cards, e-wallets, etc., securely on your website/app. The best gateway for international payments functions in the same manner and allows you to accept payments securely from international customers.
What Are the Features of a Payment Gateway?
Now that you’ve got a clear understanding of what is a payment gateway, let’s see some important features that you need to consider when shopping for one.
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Security
Needless to say, robust security is one of the most crucial features of a payment gateway. The security standards need to adhere to the PCI Data Security Standard. This will help both you and your customers ensure maximum protection against hacking or fraudulent activities.
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Ease of integration
Easy and seamless integration with your website and/or app is another important feature that you need to consider in a payment gateway. You should be able to conveniently integrate the payment gateway with other platforms. These platforms may include your e-commerce, ERP, and accounting systems, such as WooCommerce, SAP, and QuickBooks. This will greatly lower the scope of human errors and provide greater reporting visibility.
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Support for multi-currency payments
If your goal is to take your e-commerce business to the global level, you must choose an international payment gateway that can support multi-currency payments. As customers across the globe use different currencies, your payment gateway must be able to accept them securely with ease.
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Multiple payment options
To improve your sales and facilitate improved customer satisfaction, you should choose a payment gateway that can seamlessly accept different payment options such as credit/debit cards and e-wallets. When your customers get the convenience of paying you using their preferred mode of payment, it’ll automatically lead to repeat visits and improved confidence in your store.
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Reporting features
Depending on the type of your business, the reporting features you need in your payment gateway may vary. For instance, you may want to particularly review any chargebacks you might have received or review all transaction activities. You may also want a thorough analysis of the fees you’ve incurred when using the platform. Different payment gateways offer different types and formats of reports, so learn about them before committing.
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Fast processing speed
When you’re trying to improve the user experience and let the customers complete transactions as quickly as possible, you need to choose a payment gateway that can complete payment processing within a few seconds. You should also consider how fast it can transfer the money from a customer’s account to your account. Sometimes, online transactions take a couple of days to fully complete, and getting a significant amount of payment a day earlier can be advantageous for your business.
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Invoicing options
Having a payment gateway with in-built invoicing options can prove to be highly useful for any e-commerce retailer. This will help you streamline payment processing, accept payments conveniently, and may lower your dependence on other platforms.
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Balance between fees and features
Your chosen payment gateway should strike a balance between fees and features offered. For example, some of them may offer lots of features but may also come with greater costs and fees. Some may have zero setup costs but may charge higher fees for things such as chargebacks. Some may need you to pay a fixed monthly fee without any additional fees for things like chargebacks. Depending on your budget and the features you’ll require to operate the business smoothly, you should take the final call.
List of Top 10 International Payment Gateways Used In India
As an Indian merchant, you’ve got the flexibility of taking your pick from a number of good international payment gateways. Here, we’ve handpicked top ten of them (in random order) to help you choose the right one quickly.
Source: https://www.paypal.com/in/home
One of the leading gateways for international payments, PayPal operates in over 200 countries and supports 25 currencies. It helps merchants receive payments without disclosing financial information and supports commonly used cards, including Mastercard and Visa. While the platform doesn’t charge any setup fee or annual maintenance fee, you’ll need to pay 4.4% + $0.30 (international conversion fee may also apply based on the currency) to receive international payments. Some key features of PayPal include PCI compliance, online invoicing, virtual terminal, express checkout, inventory tracking, etc.
Source: https://www.payubiz.in/
Widely considered one of the best international payment gateways used in India, PayUbiz supports 13 currencies. It integrates different payment methods such as net banking, debit and credit cards, mobile wallets, and UPI. It has four plans with costs ranging from INR 4,900 to INR 19,900. For different payment methods, it charges different fees depending on the plan. Some notable features of PayUbiz include mobile-centric functioning, while labeled card vault, best conversion rates, analytics, etc.
Source: https://www.ccavenue.com/
CCAvenue is another popular international payment gateway that supports 27 major foreign currencies and a number of payment methods that cover debit and credit cards, net banking, UPI, bank EMI, and prepaid instruments. It has two packages with zero and INR 30,000 setup fees. Depending on the package and payment methods, it charges different fees. Some key features include invoice payments, easy customization, retry option, responsive checkout page, smart analytics, marketing tools, dynamic event notification, among others.
Source: https://www.2checkout.com/
With services offered in more than 180 countries and over 20,000 active clients, 2Checkout has become a leading gateway for international payments in India. It accepts more than 45 payment methods, including PayPal, debit cards, and credit cards, and the platform is available in over 30 languages. It has three packages, all of which are free to sign up for. However, it’ll charge a fixed percentage plus a fixed fee for each successful sale. Some major features include recurring billing, PCI Data Security Standard compliance, customized checkout options, e-commerce integration, reporting & analytics, and more.
Source: https://stripe.com/en-in
Stripe is a cloud-based payment gateway that offers end-to-end solutions for web-based and e-commerce businesses. It seamlessly integrates with 203 platforms, including Shopify, NetSuite, and WooCommerce, and supports payment processing in more than 135 currencies. It has two packages, namely pay-as-you-go and enterprise. While the first plan doesn’t need you to pay any setup or monthly fees, you’ll need to pay 3% fees for cards issued outside India. To learn about the enterprise package, you need to contact the team. Some key features of Stripe include unified payout, embeddable checkout, financial reporting, open-source plugins, accounting integrations, dispute handling, etc.
Source: https://razorpay.com/
Specifically developed to meet the needs of Indian merchants, Razorpay supports 92 currencies from across the globe. It also offers real-time currency conversion that automatically converts all foreign currencies received into INR. Razorpay supports international debit and credit cards and displays international customers their local currencies. It has two packages, namely standard plan and enterprise plan. While you won’t need to pay any setup or annual maintenance fee for the standard plan, it’ll charge a certain percentage for each successful transaction. You’ll need to contact the team to learn the details of the enterprise plan. Some key features include a powerful dashboard, Flash Checkout, developer-friendly API, PCI DSS compliance, etc.
Source: https://www.checkout.com/
If you’re seeking one of the best international payment gateways that will also act as a one-stop-shop for all your payment-related things, you should explore Checkout.com. It’s available across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific and supports more than 150 currencies. It accepts the majority of popular payment methods, including Mastercard, Visa, American Express, UnionPay, and more. You’ll be able to conveniently integrate it with all major shopping carts with data migration assistance received from the team. Pricing plans are available on request. Some notable features include a unified payments API, fraud monitoring, advanced analytics, among others.
Source: https://business.paytm.com/payment-gateway
Paytm’s International Payment Gateway allows merchants to accept payments from over 200 countries, and the payments get automatically converted into INR. International customers can pay using different payment methods such as debit and credit cards, digital wallets, and net banking, and the money will get transferred to your account the very next day. It offers two packages (both come with a zero setup and maintenance fee), and the transaction fees change depending on the payment method and chosen package. Key features include payment plugins for popular e-commerce systems, a powerful dashboard, and more.
Source: https://www.skrill.com/en-in/business/
Skrill is another well-known international payment gateway around the world and has been awarded and recognized by several top companies, including Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Award. It supports more than 100 payment methods, including digital wallets, cards, and instant bank transfers, and accepts over 40 currencies. Perhaps the most notable thing about Skrill is that you won’t have to pay anything to receive money except for the variable currency conversion fee. Some notable features include easy integration, chargeback protection, full PCI compliance, enhanced fraud management, multi-lingual customer care, etc.
Source: https://telr.com/in-en/
Telr is a Dubai-based international payment gateway that supports payments in 120 currencies. It supports popular payment methods, including Mastercard, Visa, and American Express, and is available in 30 languages. It has three packages depending on the monthly transaction value. While the platform doesn’t charge any monthly fee, you’ll need to pay a one-time setup fee and a variable fee (depending on the payment method and chosen package) for the transactions. Some key features of Telr include PCI DSS Level 1 compliance, proprietary antifraud software, real-time dashboard, card tokenization for repeat visitors, among others.
Major Payment Gateway Advantages
If you’re still having a dilemma about whether or not you should explore one of the platforms we discussed above, the following pointers on payment gateway advantages should help make up your mind.
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Secure and faster transactions
One of the major advantages of using a good payment gateway is the speed and security it brings to your payment processing method. As the process of approving payments only takes some seconds, the entire transaction gets completed pretty quickly. Also, many top-tier payment gateways are compliant with PCI Data Security Standard that protects their users’ confidential financial information from being hacked. Both of these enable you to offer your customers a secure and faster shopping experience.
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Tokenization
As cybercrime continues to rise, payment card security has become one of the biggest concerns of both merchants and customers. Today, many payment gateways offer tokenization as a standard feature. This stands for the process of safeguarding a customer’s sensitive financial information by replacing it with a randomly generated number, which’s called a “token.” This token is then passed through the networks required for payment processing without the customer’s actual bank details being exposed. This frees merchants from storing customers’ financial information in their systems, and hence, helps to increase security and minimize liability.
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Ability to take your business to the international market
If you want to expand your business’s reach to the global market, you’ve got to opt for an international payment gateway. It’ll allow your international customers to make payments in their currencies using their preferred payment methods. Some of these payment gateways also support multiple languages, which makes the process even more convenient for your customers.
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Low costs
Once setting up a payment gateway was an expensive affair and could only be afforded by large enterprises and businesses. But today, thanks to their steadily increasing demand, their costs have become surprisingly affordable. Many popular payment gateways don’t charge any setup or annual maintenance fee. You only need to pay a certain amount of transaction charges for every successful sale. It means you can leverage all of their top-notch features to grow your business by paying a small fee that too when you actually make a profit.
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Payment automation
By using a good payment gateway, you can set up automatic payouts, withdrawals, and recurring bills. As these don’t require any human intervention, the scope of errors gets reduced to a great extent. It also leads to a faster payment processing environment.
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Recurring payments
Recurring payments offer a multitude of benefits to both merchants and customers. As a merchant, you can ensure that payments always appear on time by creating an automated payment schedule. This increases your cash flow while offering flexibility and convenience for the customers. These days, many good payment gateways offer recurring payments as a standard feature.
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Software integration
For any e-commerce merchant, using multiple software programs to manage business and payments isn’t a cost-effective or efficient solution. Thanks to the APIs, it’s possible to easily integrate payment gateways with many other software programs, be it your e-commerce platform or accounting application. This essentially saves you a significant amount of time, improves accuracy, lowers the cost, and simplifies transaction reconciliation.
How to Integrate a Payment Gateway?
The exact steps of how to integrate a payment gateway will depend on your chosen platform. However, there’re three key ways to integrate a payment gateway.
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Hosted Payment Gateway
A hosted payment gateway functions as a third party because it requires the customers to leave your site for completing a purchase. In this method, you don’t need to comply with PCI DSS because the payment processing is handled by a third-party system. However, sometimes, customers don’t trust third-party systems, which may lower your conversion rates.
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Integrated Payment Gateway
When you use an integrated payment gateway, it means there’s no presence of a third party at the payment checkout stage. If you use an integrated gateway, you’ll need to obtain PCI DSS compliance because you’re in charge of storing and securing your customers’ financial information and conducting initial verification for every transaction. While you can tailor this payment system as per your business’s needs, you’ll usually need to maintain all related infrastructure and pay the associated costs.
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Direct Post Method
In this integration method, the payment form generates from the merchant’s website. Here, after a consumer clicks the “purchase” button, the transaction data gets the payment gateway without being stored on the merchant’s own server. While this method gives the merchant more control over the process, it also depends on the internal security controls of the merchant to safeguard the transaction.
Difference between National & International Payment Gateways
The fundamental difference between national and international payment gateways is that with the former, you’ll only be able to receive payments from your customers in your country’s national currency. For example, if your business is registered in India and uses a national payment gateway, you can accept payments only in the INR.
On the contrary, if your business receives payments from international customers, you’ve to use an international payment gateway to facilitate the transactions. These gateways offer multi-currency payments and sometimes an interface with multiple languages to make the process even more convenient for your international customers.
Closing Thoughts
As you can see, there’re many feature-rich international payment gateways available for Indian merchants to choose from. When weighing up the options, think about which features do you actually need to facilitate the smooth functioning of your business, whether or not the payment gateway you’re considering will smoothly integrate with your business’s other solutions, and how much you want to spend. Then, finalize the option that ticks all the boxes.
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FAQs:
Which Payment Gateway Is Best In India for International Transactions?
Depending on your business’s requirements, there can be one or multiple payment gateways that best fit your business. Before deciding on the best international payment gateway, you should consider factors such as easy integration with your website and/or app, security standard compliance, payout times, etc.
Is PayPal A Payment Gateway?
PayPal gives merchants both a payment processor and a payment gateway, making the entire process of accepting payments and getting them transferred to the bank account simple. Merchants, who already have got a payment processor, need to add Payflow, which’s the payment gateway of PayPal.
What Is the Most Secure Payment Gateway?
Payment gateways that comply with the PCI DSS are considered to be the most secure ones. Some popular payment gateways also offer a feature called “tokenization” to add an extra layer of security to the transaction.
What Are the Various Types of Payment Gateways?
Usually, there are three types of payment gateways. The first one is a redirect-gateway, where a third-party platform completes the entire transaction. The second one is the type, in which the payment processing completes on the payment gateway’s page but it initiates on the merchant’s website. The third one is an integrated gateway, where the entire process gets completed on the merchant’s server.
How Do I Integrate a Payment Gateway to My Website?
The method of integrating a payment gateway to your website depends on the type of payment gateway you choose. Follow the guidelines of your chosen gateway to have a faster and successful integration.
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