Best PayFac Platforms for India Payments (2026)

The best PayFac platforms for India payments, for a company outside India collecting from Indian customers, are: 1. Xflow, 2. EximPe, 3. Cashfree, 4. PayU, 5. Razorpay, 6. Pine Labs.

Xflow is embedded payments infrastructure: your Indian customers pay by UPI, cards or netbanking, including recurring payments, you collect with no Indian entity, and the money settles abroad in your own currency.

For a company abroad taking Indian payments, the pick comes down to three things: the methods Indian customers use, recurring mandates, and who checks the businesses you onboard.

1. Xflow: best for platforms abroad whose businesses (sub-merchants) bill Indian customers by UPI AutoPay, cards or netbanking, with each business checked by Xflow's team.
2. EximPe: best for payment service providers (PSPs) abroad that want a published starting fee per transaction.
3. Cashfree: best for merchants abroad whose Indian buyers pay with Amex or Diners cards.
4. PayU: best for merchants abroad that want to add Indian payments to an online store through a ready import plugin or Shopify integration.
5. Razorpay: best for merchants abroad with no website or app that want to collect from Indian customers through a shared Payment Link or Payment Page.
6. Pine Labs: best for merchants abroad that want EMI and BNPL (buy now, pay later) offered beside UPI, cards and netbanking.

Your Indian customers want to pay the way they pay at home, and a checkout built for international cards often cannot offer that. Three things get in the way, and each one points to something your provider needs to offer.

• UPI first - UPI carried 85% of India's digital payments in FY2025-26, so a checkout without it asks payers to leave their usual app. See how foreign companies take UPI payments from India.
• Cards switched off - under a January 2020 card-controls rule from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), an Indian card never used online or abroad is switched off for that use until the holder turns it on.
• Subscriptions need a mandate - RBI's April 2026 e-mandate rules cover recurring payments, domestic or cross-border: the payer registers once with extra authentication, gets a pre-debit notice at least 24 hours before each charge, and can be charged up to ₹15,000 without extra authentication.

So check that your provider offers UPI and netbanking beside cards, and Indian mandates if you bill on a subscription.

All six hold final RBI PA-CB authorisation for inward and outward flows, the fully approved stage past in-principle, on RBI's list dated 30 Sep 2026. So you can collect from India with any of these PayFac platforms on licence grounds, and the choice comes down to methods, onboarding, checkout and payout.

All six providers collect from Indian customers for a company outside India and settle abroad, but they differ on recurring billing, who checks your businesses and how much of the checkout carries your brand. Each profile shows what the product offers Indian payers and the businesses on your platform, with the strengths and limits you would feel in practice.

1. Xflow

Best for: platforms abroad whose businesses (sub-merchants) bill Indian customers by UPI AutoPay, cards or netbanking, with each business checked by Xflow's team.

Xflow is an embedded payments infrastructure provider that lets a company outside India collect from Indian customers and settle abroad.

Payers pay in rupees, Xflow converts at the mid-market rate, and the money settles to your overseas account in USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD and more, typically in T+2 (2 business days).

Xflow holds a final PA-CB licence from RBI: see Xflow's PA-CB licence.

Key features

• Indian payers choose UPI, Visa and Mastercard cards, RuPay or netbanking at checkout, and the businesses on a platform cover the methods Indian customers commonly use without building each one.
• Recurring billing runs through UPI AutoPay, card mandates and e-NACH, and RBI's April 2026 rules require one-time registration and a pre-debit notice at least 24 hours before each charge.
• The hosted checkout opens as a modal inside the platform's own app and stays fully branded, so Indian payers never leave the experience your business has built.
• Each payment is linked to the business on your platform that it belongs to, and test mode behaves like live mode without processing a real payment, so a platform can check its flows before going live.

Pros

• You collect from Indian customers without an Indian entity, and regulatory requirements are handled with an AD-1 (Authorised Dealer Category-1) banking partner.
• Because Xflow's team verifies each business you onboard before it can take payments, a platform does not need its own verification process for Indian collections.
• Xflow's team helps each platform choose the right purpose code, the RBI-approved reason code for each payment, while it onboards each business.

Cons

• Indian wallets and EMI are not in Xflow's method list, so payers who rely on those two need another route.

2. EximPe

Best for: payment service providers (PSPs) abroad that want a published starting fee per transaction.

EximPe is a cross-border payment aggregator that lets a platform abroad collect from Indian customers and onboard the businesses it serves through a PSP model.

EximPe runs the know-your-customer (KYC) checks in the background through an API, and Indian payers pay in rupees. It converts and settles to an account abroad, usually within 24-48 hours.

Key features

• Payers can use UPI, Visa, Mastercard, RuPay, net banking and QR, plus INR virtual accounts for bank transfers, giving the businesses on a platform card, UPI and bank options on one integration.
• Subscription billing covers UPI AutoPay and e-NACH with one-time authorisation, billing cycles, retries for failed charges and mandate webhooks, all with the provider that handles one-off payments.
• The platform fee starts at 0.75% per transaction (Oct 2026), and most platforms go live within 2 to 4 weeks, so a PSP can plan costs and a launch window early.
• The PSP model is offered white-label, and hosted or embedded checkout supports custom colours, logos and language, letting a platform present India payments to the businesses it onboards under its own brand.

Pros

• The product is built around UPI-led collections from Indian buyers for overseas merchants, which suits a company whose Indian sales are mostly UPI.
• It holds final PA-CB authorisation and got it without first running an online payment gateway or holding a domestic payment aggregator licence, so cross-border collection is its core business.

Cons

• EMI and BNPL instalments are not among EximPe's India payment methods, so a seller of higher-priced goods or courses cannot let Indian payers split the price.
• Settlement covers 30+ currencies, fewer than the 100+ that Cashfree and PayU offer, so a merchant paid in a less common currency should confirm its own is covered.
• Indian payers pay EximPe's fee and GST on top of the price, plus TCS on payments made under LRS, so the total they see at checkout is higher than the price you set.

3. Cashfree

Best for: merchants abroad whose Indian buyers pay with Amex or Diners cards.

Cashfree is an Indian payments company whose Sell to India product lets merchants abroad collect from Indian customers, and whose Global Payment Aggregators use case lets platforms onboard and manage sub-merchants through its API. Indian payers pay in rupees, and Cashfree settles abroad in the merchant's currency.

Key features

• Indian payers can use UPI, RuPay, Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Diners cards and netbanking across 90+ banks, keeping the cards and bank options they already use.
• SaaS and AI merchants can bill Indian subscriptions through UPI AutoPay, which needs one-time customer authorisation, and through standing instructions on cards.
• Payouts go out in USD, EUR, GBP, SGD, AUD, CAD, HKD and 100+ other currencies, converted at its partner bank's rate on the settlement date, with webhooks for settlement status.
• Checkout is customised for the Indian market, with a native Shopify plugin and One Click Checkout using WhatsApp OTP login, so returning payers skip re-entering details.

Pros

• Sign-up is self-serve and the developer documentation is clear, so an engineering team can often go live quickly, in some cases the same day.
• Its reporting tools make daily reconciliation straightforward, which helps a finance team match each payout to its orders.
• A sub-merchant API lets a platform onboard and manage the businesses it serves in code, and setup is organised by use case so engineers find the collection flow they need.

Cons

• Support replies can be slow and some businesses report having no single point of contact, which matters more for a company abroad working across time zones.
• Costs can be unclear, and the annual maintenance charge of ₹4,999 plus GST is easy to miss, so ask for the full fee list before you sign up.
• Account activation can take longer than expected, and international payments can carry limits and a security deposit, so build that wait into your launch date.

4. PayU

Best for: merchants abroad that want to add Indian payments to an online store through a ready import plugin or Shopify integration.

PayU is an Indian payments company whose cross-border Import integration lets merchants outside India collect from Indian customers by UPI, cards, netbanking and NEFT or RTGS bank transfers.

PayU settles directly through authorised dealer banks in the merchant's own currency, usually in T+2 or T+3.

Key features

• Indian payers can use debit and credit cards, UPI intent and netbanking, while business buyers can pay by NEFT or RTGS bank transfer on the same integration.
• Subscriptions take registration consent over cards, UPI and netbanking, with recurring debits, intelligent retries and a pre-debit notification API for the notice RBI requires before each charge.
• Hosted checkout, merchant-hosted server flows, an import plugin and a Shopify integration are available, and platforms can pass the end merchant's name with each payment.
• Each payment is capped at ₹25 lakh and needs an invoice ID, buyer name and billing postcode, so your checkout must collect those fields.

Pros

• Integration with online store platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce is reported to be easy, which suits a merchant who wants to add Indian payments without custom code.
• Settlement runs in 100+ currencies, which helps a merchant abroad get paid in its own currency wherever it is based.

Cons

• Support replies have been reported to take more than a week, which can delay a company abroad that needs a fix before a launch.
• Onboarding requirements can be unclear and some rejections come with vague reasons, so a merchant may need several rounds to complete setup.
• Funds can be held for long periods and some methods carry extra charges, so ask about hold rules and method fees before you commit.

5. Razorpay

Best for: merchants abroad with no website or app that want to collect from Indian customers through a shared Payment Link or Payment Page.

Razorpay is an Indian payment gateway whose Import Flow lets non-Indian businesses collect from Indian customers and settle abroad.

Activation is an on-demand form, a purpose code is chosen at onboarding, and Razorpay's operations team verifies the account before payments go live.

Key features

• Indian payers see UPI, UPI AutoPay, RuPay, Visa, Mastercard, Diners and netbanking across all banks, and subscriptions can run on card recurring or e-mandate.
• A business with no website or app can still collect from Indian customers by sharing a Razorpay Payment Link or Payment Page, alongside the standard Razorpay checkout.
• Settlement runs in USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, SGD, AUD, CHF, AED and other currencies, with a limit of USD 30k per transaction across all methods.

Pros

• Setup and integration are quick and the API documentation is clear, which helps a technical team reach a first test payment fast.
• The dashboard shows payments, refunds and settlements in one place, which helps a finance team reconcile without exporting data from several screens.
• WordPress and WooCommerce integrations connect checkout to a store a merchant already runs, and the wide set of ready integrations helps a platform team plug it into existing systems.

Cons

• Support replies can be slow, with tickets sometimes closed before the problem is solved, which a company abroad may feel more because of time-zone gaps.
• Some accounts are frozen or funds held with little explanation, which could delay settlement abroad for a company that depends on timely payouts.
• Cross-border use is not on by default, approval requirements are strict and functionality is more limited outside India, so plan for a separate activation step.

6. Pine Labs

Best for: merchants abroad that want EMI and BNPL (buy now, pay later) offered beside UPI, cards and netbanking.

Pine Labs is an Indian payments company whose Cross Border Import Payments product lets eligible overseas merchants collect from Indian customers without a local Indian entity.

Payments settle to an approved foreign bank account, and a transfer marked Settled means the SWIFT payment has been started.

Key features

• Cards, netbanking, UPI, EMI and BNPL are all available for cross-border collection, which lets merchants abroad offer Indian buyers instalments at the same checkout.
• Hosted, custom and iFrame checkout are available, and the custom option gives full control over the payment experience and branding, with local INR pricing shown to the buyer.
• A separate flow under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) covers education, travel and medical payments, with payer details collected at checkout, so the checkout carries part of the compliance work for those categories.

Pros

• Its RBI authorisations cover online, in-store and cross-border payment aggregation, so one provider can serve online and in-store sales for a merchant with a presence in both.
• Payment Links let a merchant that has no full checkout send a payer a link to pay, so collection can start without building one.

Cons

• Recurring mandates such as UPI AutoPay are not among the methods its cross-border product supports, so a subscription business needs another provider for renewals.
• The LRS flow covers only education, travel and medical payments, and in the other flow larger amounts get additional verification, which can add a step at checkout for high-value orders.
• Settlement to your foreign account waits until an invoice number and date are supplied for each payment, so your checkout or back office has to send them.

The money moves in the same order with any provider, and knowing that order shows you where each rule and each fee sits.

1. The payer pays in rupees - your Indian customer pays in INR by UPI, an Indian card or netbanking.
2. The licensed provider collects - a PA-CB collects cross-border payments for the merchants it has onboarded.
3. Rupees are converted - the provider changes INR into your currency, and the rate basis differs by provider.
4. The money settles abroad - the converted amount is paid to an account abroad in your own currency.

For a platform, RBI lets a PA-CB onboard merchants abroad directly or sign an agreement with marketplaces or payment aggregators abroad, which is a route open to a PayFac abroad.

How the money moves with us

- the payer pays in rupees, regulatory requirements are handled with an AD-1 bank partner, and the converted amount reaches the platform's account abroad, with each payment tagged to the business it came from.

Adding India for the businesses you onboard comes down to five jobs, and for each one you need to know whether the provider or your own team does it.

• Onboarding and checks - RBI makes the licensed provider responsible for due diligence on each merchant it onboards, so ask whether the provider or your own team verifies each sub-merchant.
• Checkout and brand - Indian payers need UPI, cards and netbanking at checkout, and you decide whose brand they see while they pay.
• Collection and conversion - rupees are collected from the payer and converted into the merchant's currency, and the provider should tell you which rate it uses.
• Payout - the money lands in an account abroad, and you need to know whether it is paid to you or split and paid to each merchant.
• Compliance - purpose codes and payer details such as PAN are collected to meet India's foreign-exchange (FEMA) and tax rules, and either the provider or your integration carries that work.

Providers ask for details on each business before it can collect: we ask for a legal name, registration number, website and purpose code, Cashfree asks for a tax number, entity details and a website, and Razorpay asks for a purpose code at onboarding.

Ask for a test mode first, so your engineers can run payments before any live payment goes through. On EximPe, most marketplace platforms go live within 2 to 4 weeks.

Going live with us

- you can accept international payments from India for each business you onboard, and we aim to get you live in days, not quarters.

1. Send us each business's details - legal name, registration number, purpose code and website.
2. Our team verifies it - we check the information, then create the business as a connected user under your account.
3. Try test mode - it works like live mode, but no real payment is processed.
4. Indian customers pay at a branded checkout - payers pick UPI, UPI AutoPay, RuPay or other cards, or netbanking.
5. Payouts reach your account - you receive them abroad in your own currency.

The right pick depends on what your Indian customers pay with and who checks the businesses you onboard, so match your own situation.

• Subscriptions from SaaS, AI and edtech companies on a platform - we offer UPI AutoPay, card mandates and e-NACH, and our team verifies each business you bring on. Razorpay, Cashfree, EximPe and PayU also support recurring billing.
• Indian buyers who pay with Amex or Diners - Cashfree accepts both beside UPI, RuPay and netbanking across 90+ banks, and Razorpay accepts Diners.
• A Shopify or WooCommerce store - PayU has an import plugin and a Shopify integration, and its store-platform setup is easy. Cashfree also has a native Shopify plugin.
• Buyers who pay in instalments - Pine Labs offers EMI and BNPL to merchants abroad, so a seller of higher-priced goods or courses can split the price at checkout.
• A business with no website or app - Razorpay offers Payment Links and Payment Pages, and Pine Labs offers Payment Links, so either lets it start collecting once its Import product is activated.
• A PSP that wants a published starting fee - EximPe's platform fee starts at 0.75% per transaction (Oct 2026), and EximPe runs the KYC for the businesses a PSP onboards.