Payment Gateway for Agencies: 8 Best Options in India Compared (2026)

The best payment gateways for agencies in India are 1. Xflow, 2. Razorpay, 3. Cashfree, 4. PayU, 5. Paytm, 6. Skydo, 7. PayPal and 8. Playto.

The right payment gateway for agencies depends on who your clients are: Xflow for international clients paying by bank transfer, Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU and Paytm for Indian clients paying by UPI, cards and payment links, and Skydo, PayPal and Playto as alternatives for overseas payments.

Most agencies end up using two tools: a domestic gateway for Indian retainers and a receiving account for foreign invoices.

That split matters because the cost gap is large.

A $5,000 invoice paid by international card through an Indian gateway costs about $177 in fees and GST, while the same invoice paid by bank transfer into a receiving account can cost about $10 to $59. This guide compares all eight options on fees, retainers, payment links, settlement and RBI licensing, using each provider's own website.

• International clients: Xflow, with local receiving accounts in 25+ currencies and USD 12 or USD 20 flat fees on most invoices.
• Indian clients: Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU or Paytm, at around 2% of each payment plus 18% GST on the fee.
• Retainers: use UPI AutoPay or card subscriptions for Indian clients, and a fixed monthly invoice paid by bank transfer for overseas clients.
• Licensing: Xflow, Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU, Paytm and Skydo all appear on RBI's list of cross-border payment aggregators; Playto and PayPal do not.
• Large Indian invoices: ask clients to pay by NEFT or RTGS to your current account, which avoids the 2% gateway fee altogether.
• Biggest avoidable cost: letting overseas clients pay large invoices by card, which adds 3% or more plus chargeback risk.

An agency needs three things from a payment gateway: recurring billing for retainers, payment links for milestone invoices, and a low-cost way to collect from international clients.

That is where it differs from a general payment gateway for business or a payment gateway for small business selling online.

Unlike an online shop, an agency bills a small number of clients for large amounts, often on a statement of work (SOW) with NET-30 terms.

• Payment links: send a link or QR code with each GST invoice so the client pays in one tap. Every gateway here has a create payment link option in its dashboard, with no code needed.
• Recurring billing: charge monthly retainers automatically through UPI AutoPay, an e-mandate or a saved card.
• International collection: give overseas clients local account details (ACH in the US, SEPA in Europe) or accept international cards, with multi-currency support.
• Reconciliation and paperwork: match each payment to its invoice by UTR, share receipts through a client portal, and get a FIRA or FIRC for each foreign payment to support zero-rated GST on export of services.

Xflow, Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU, Paytm, Skydo, PayPal and Playto are the eight options worth comparing, and they split into domestic gateways and international collection tools. Every figure below comes from the provider's own website, checked on 30 September 2026.

1. Xflow

Best for: Indian agencies billing clients in the US, UK, Europe and other markets by invoice.

Xflow is an RBI-authorised cross-border payments platform that gives Indian agencies local receiving accounts, so an overseas client pays your invoice by local bank transfer (ACH in the US, SEPA in Europe, Faster Payments in the UK) as it would pay any local supplier.

The money reaches your Indian bank account the next business day, the export paperwork follows automatically, and each payment matches its client without manual work.

Xflow does not collect domestic payments, so it sits alongside a gateway rather than replacing one.

Key features

• Multi-currency receiving accounts: get accounts in 25+ currencies, with local account details for USD, EUR, GBP and CAD, so clients in each market pay you as they would pay a domestic supplier.
• One account per client: issue a unique account per customer or per invoice, so every incoming payment matches the right invoice without anyone checking bank statements by hand.
• Free invoicing built in: create invoices with payment options included, and share a payment link from each invoice so a client can pay as soon as it arrives.
• Zoho Books integration: USD to INR transactions sync with Zoho Books, so your accounts team sees each client payment and its conversion without exporting files or re-keying entries.
• Next business day settlement: money reaches your Indian bank account the next business day, before 12:00 PM, so overseas receipts arrive in time for salaries and vendor payments.

Pros

• Flat fee on typical invoices: a USD 5,000 invoice costs USD 20 on the Growth plan, so the fee stays the same whether the client pays USD 2,500 or USD 5,000, which makes project pricing easier to plan.
• Paperwork without chasing: an eFIRA arrives within 24 hours for every international transaction, so the proof your CA needs for zero-rated GST is ready before month-end, not weeks later.
• No card risk on bank transfers: clients pay by bank transfer rather than card, so there are no card chargebacks to reverse a payment after the work is delivered, and the conversion is priced off the live mid-market rate.

Cons

• International only: it does not collect domestic UPI or card payments, so your Indian clients still need a separate gateway such as Razorpay or Cashfree.
• No auto-debit for retainers: no recurring collection product is listed, so a monthly retainer runs as a monthly invoice that the client pays each time.
• Variable fee above the threshold: once an invoice goes past the plan's flat-fee limit, the 0.6% or 0.4% fee is charged as an FX markup, so large invoices are worth quoting on the Scale plan.

Pricing: Starter charges USD 12 flat for invoices up to USD 2,000 and 0.6% above that; Growth charges USD 20 flat up to USD 5,000 and 0.4% above that; the Scale plan has custom pricing for invoices of USD 10,000 and more.

Verdict: one of the lowest-cost ways on this list to collect international invoices by bank transfer, with the best reconciliation for agencies with many overseas clients.

2. Razorpay

Best for: registered agencies that want one dashboard for domestic payment links, retainer subscriptions and vendor payouts.

Razorpay is an Indian payment gateway that more than 50 lakh businesses use, according to Razorpay, and for an agency the draw is breadth: one account covers payment links and pages, retainer subscriptions, contractor payouts and some international collection, which is why it appears on most shortlists for the best payment gateway in India.

RazorpayX, its business banking layer, is useful for agencies that pay freelancers every month and want those payouts to land in Zoho Books or Tally.

It is most useful when the same small finance team handles domestic retainers, contractor payments and the occasional foreign client.

Key features

• Payment links and pages: send payment links, invoices and hosted payment pages at the standard gateway rate, so an Indian client can pay a milestone invoice by UPI or card in one tap.
• Recurring payments: collect monthly retainers through cards, UPI AutoPay, e-mandate or paper NACH, so a client approves once and later debits run on schedule without fresh invoices.
• MoneySaver export account: receive SWIFT, ACH, SEPA and FPS transfers from overseas clients, with a FIRA and eFIRC issued for every transaction for your GST export records.
• Split payments and payouts: Route splits a client payment between accounts, and RazorpayX payouts to freelancers sync with Zoho Books or Tally, so contractor payments are recorded automatically.
• International card acceptance: overseas clients can pay by international credit or debit card at checkout, which helps with one-off projects where a bank transfer is not practical for the client.

Pros

• Nothing to pay upfront: there is no setup fee and no annual maintenance charge, so a new agency can go live and pay only when clients pay.
• FIRC from the dashboard: international users can download a FIRS certificate, which Razorpay describes as one-click FIRC at no extra cost, so export paperwork does not need a trip to the bank.
• Cheaper first-stage disputes: there is no fee when a chargeback is first raised; network fees apply only if the dispute escalates to pre-arbitration or arbitration.

Cons

• Individuals need PayPal for international: if you are signed up as an individual rather than a business, you must integrate PayPal before you can accept international payments at all.
• Card costs add up abroad: international cards cost up to 3% plus GST, plus FX charges, which makes cards the costliest of Razorpay's routes for a foreign client.
• Slower money from abroad: Razorpay's docs put standard settlement at T+2 for domestic and up to T+7 for international payments, even though the pricing page says typically T+1 or instant, so plan cash flow on the slower figure.
• Offers and add-ons change the maths: subscriptions add 0.9% per payment (0.5% on the current offer), and the 0% intro offer applies only for the first 90 days.

Pricing: 2% + GST on most domestic methods; international cards 3% + GST plus FX charges; MoneySaver bank transfers 1% + GST with no FX markup.

Verdict: the strongest all-round domestic choice for registered agencies, with a workable bank-transfer option for international clients. For the full breakdown, see our Razorpay review.

3. Cashfree

Best for: agencies with high domestic volume, many client payments or payouts to split.

Cashfree Payments is built for businesses that collect from many customers and pass part of that money on to others.

For an agency, that means tools to split a client payment with a partner, or to give each client a dedicated account to pay into, on top of standard domestic collection.

It fits best when most of your billing is in India and partners or freelancers share each project.

Key features

• Free payment links: create payment links at no additional cost on top of the gateway fee, and send one with each GST invoice so Indian clients can pay in one tap.
• Recurring payments: run retainers through cards, e-mandate and UPI AutoPay, and bill overseas clients on international cards with recurring billing in 140+ currencies.
• Easy Split and virtual accounts: Easy Split shares a client payment with partners or vendors, and virtual accounts give each client a dedicated account to pay into, at a ₹20 platform fee per payment.
• Zoho Finance plugin: connect Cashfree to Zoho Finance so collections are recorded in your books, which saves your accounts team from matching gateway reports against invoices by hand.

Pros

• Lowest domestic rate here: at 1.95%, Cashfree's published domestic fee is the lowest among the large gateways in this guide, which adds up on a busy month of Indian retainers.
• A FIRS for every international payment: each foreign card payment comes with its own certificate, so you can match paperwork to invoices one by one.
• A strong start for new merchants: the festive offer waives fees on the first ₹20 lakh on eligible domestic methods, which can cover several months of billing for a small agency.

Cons

• Businesses only for cross-border: Cashfree enables international payments only for businesses, so an unregistered consultant cannot use it for overseas clients.
• International cards and the offer: foreign cards cost 2.99% (2.69% on its anniversary offer), and the festive offer excludes international payments and subscriptions.
• Next-day settlement is an offer: standard settlement is T+2; next-day settlement comes with the festive offer for new merchants, which does not cover international payments.

Pricing: 1.95% on cards, UPI, netbanking and wallets; international Visa and Mastercard 2.99%, Amex 2.95%; recurring mandates carry a ₹7.5 creation fee plus a per-debit fee; GST extra.

Verdict: good value for high domestic volume and split payouts, less so for international retainers.

4. PayU

Best for: agencies whose Indian clients use many different payment methods.

PayU is a domestic payment gateway built for reach: 150+ payment modes, from cards and UPI to EMI, BNPL and wallets, through a single integration.

That matters when your Indian clients range from startups paying by card to large companies that prefer netbanking. PayU says its average merchant activation now takes about a day.

It is a practical choice if your client base is mixed and you would rather not turn any payment method away.

Key features

• 150+ payment modes: accept cards, UPI, netbanking, EMI, BNPL and wallets through one integration, so no Indian client is turned away because their preferred method is missing.
• Recurring payments: collect retainers on cards, UPI AutoPay and e-mandate, and on international cards for overseas clients, so monthly billing runs without sending a fresh link each time.
• Split settlements: divide a single client payment between your agency and partner accounts at settlement, so subcontractors on a shared project are paid without a separate transfer.
• Accounting automation: connect PayU to Tally or Zoho Books so payments and settlements are recorded automatically, which reduces the manual entries your accounts team makes at month-end.

Pros

• Easy to forecast: pricing has just two slabs, 2% or 3%, so you know the cost of a payment before the client pays.
• No fixed costs: there are no setup, onboarding or annual fees, which suits agencies whose billing goes up and down from month to month.
• FIRC on request: your account manager can issue a FIRC for international payments, so export proof is available even though it is not automatic.
• Open to smaller setups: individuals and sole proprietors can sign up, not only companies, which helps freelancers growing into an agency.

Cons

• Costly for foreign clients: international payments sit in the 3% slab plus GST, and PayU does not publish its conversion margin, so the real cost of a foreign card payment is higher than the headline.
• Two-day wait: settlement is T+2 for both domestic and international payments, slower than gateways that settle the next day.

Pricing: 2% on domestic Visa, Mastercard, netbanking, BNPL and wallets; 3% on Diners, Amex, EMI and international; 18% GST on fees.

Verdict: a dependable domestic gateway, though the 3% international slab makes it a costly route for foreign clients.

5. Paytm Payment Gateway

Best for: small agencies and freelancers that want one flat domestic rate.

Paytm Payment Gateway, run by Paytm Payments Services, is a domestic gateway that keeps pricing simple with one platform fee on every transaction, so there are no slabs to compare. It suits small agencies whose clients are mostly Indian.

It works well for Indian retainers billed through payment links or subscriptions. It suits teams that want predictable fees and quick settlement more than a long feature list.

Key features

• One platform fee: a single platform fee applies to every transaction, whatever the payment method, so you never compare slabs or work out which rate a client payment fell under.
• Payment links and invoices: send payment links and invoices to Indian clients, so a retainer or milestone payment can be made straight from the link you share with them.
• Subscriptions: set up recurring retainers through eNACH and UPI AutoPay, so an Indian client authorises once and each monthly debit runs without a fresh payment request.

Pros

• No fixed costs: zero setup fee and zero annual maintenance mean you only pay when a client pays.
• Quick access to cash: settlement is generally on T+1, so a client payment on Monday is usually in your account on Tuesday.
• Free tier for freelancers: freelancers can collect up to ₹20,000 a month on payment links for free, useful while a solo studio is still small.

Cons

• International terms are unclear: international cards are switched on through support and the rate is not published, so ask for it in writing before billing a foreign client.
• No published FIRA process: Paytm does not say whether it issues a FIRA or FIRC for international payments, which matters for your GST export records.

Pricing: 1.99% platform fee applicable on all transactions, plus 18% GST.

Verdict: a simple domestic option for small teams, but get the international terms in writing first.

6. Skydo

Best for: agencies collecting one-off international invoices that want flat fees in dollars.

Skydo works on the same idea as Xflow, receiving accounts for money coming into India, but prices by invoice slab rather than by plan.

It is built only for money coming into India, so the product stays focused on exporters rather than domestic checkout. It suits agencies whose overseas work arrives as one-off projects rather than monthly retainers.

Key features

• Flat fees by invoice size: Skydo charges USD 19 up to USD 2,000 and USD 29 up to USD 10,000, so the fee on each project invoice is known before you send it.
• Instant FIRA: a FIRA lands in your inbox for each payment, so the proof your CA needs for zero-rated GST on export of services is ready without asking a bank.
• Invoicing and local accounts: create GST-compliant invoices and give clients local account details in 7 currencies, so overseas clients pay by local transfer instead of a SWIFT wire.
• Zoho Books sync: payments sync with Zoho Books, so each overseas receipt and its invoice appear in your accounts without manual entry at the end of every month.

Pros

• Predictable project pricing: fees are flat for invoices between USD 2,000 and USD 10,000, and money arrives in under 24 hours, so the cost and timing of each project payment are known upfront.
• No dispute risk on transfers: Skydo says chargebacks do not apply to bank transfers, so a completed client payment cannot be reversed the way a card payment can.

Cons

• Not built for retainers: recurring payments are not yet supported, so every monthly retainer needs a fresh invoice and payment.
• GST on top: 18% GST applies to the flat fee, so a USD 29 fee is really about USD 34.
• Payment links cost more: its ACH debit payment links cost 2% (minimum USD 9) and typically settle within 6 business days, much slower and costlier than its standard transfers.
• Higher fee on mid-size invoices: on a USD 5,000 invoice, Skydo's USD 29 plus GST is above Xflow's USD 20 flat.

Pricing: USD 19 up to USD 2,000; USD 29 from USD 2,001 to USD 10,000; 0.3% above USD 10,000; custom pricing above USD 100,000 a month.

Verdict: a solid flat-fee option for project invoices, weaker for retainers.

7. PayPal

Best for: overseas clients who will only pay through PayPal.

PayPal is a global wallet and checkout that many overseas clients already use, and a client who will only pay through PayPal is the one case where it earns a place in an agency's stack.

For Indian users it handles international payments only, so it can never be an agency's only payment tool.

Treat it as a fallback for clients who cannot pay by bank transfer, and move them to a cheaper route once the relationship is established.

Key features

• Global payments: clients can pay from a PayPal balance or a linked card in many countries, which helps when a new overseas client has no easy way to send a bank transfer.
• Invoicing and links: send PayPal invoices, payment links or a PayPal.Me link, so a client can settle an invoice in a few clicks from an account they already use.
• Dispute handling: buyer and seller disputes are raised and answered inside PayPal, so both sides see the same record of the payment, the messages and any evidence you submit.

Pros

• Clients already have it: many overseas clients already hold a PayPal account and trust the checkout, so a first payment from a new client can happen without setting up a bank transfer.
• Free export paperwork: PayPal India issues a digital FIRA automatically every week at no cost, so you do not need to request proof payment by payment.
• Subscriptions without extra fees: recurring payments are included in PayPal Checkout with no monthly or setup fee, so a small retainer can run automatically.

Cons

• The most expensive route: PayPal charges 4.40% plus a fixed fee to receive, and 3.0% above the base exchange rate when converting, so about 7% of a large invoice can go in fees.
• No control over withdrawals: your balance moves to your bank automatically every day, can take up to 5 business days to arrive, and cannot be withdrawn manually.
• Disputes cost you: a standard dispute costs USD 8 on a USD payment, or ₹580 on an INR payment, on top of the time spent answering it, and card-funded PayPal payments can be disputed after the work is delivered.

Pricing: 4.40% + USD 0.30 per international payment received, plus a 3.0% currency conversion margin.

Verdict: use it only when the client leaves you no other option.

8. Playto

Best for: agencies whose US clients insist on paying by card.

Playto takes a different approach from every other option here. Playto, Inc., a Delaware company, acts as merchant of record and principal reseller: it sells your service to the client itself, buys it from you, and then pays you.

That structure lets US clients pay a US company by card instead of paying an Indian business directly. It is aimed at agencies selling to US clients who want to pay by card, provided the agency can wait for payouts.

Key features

• One flow for paperwork: agreements, invoices and payment sit in a single flow, so a US client signs, receives the invoice and pays without switching between separate tools.
• Cards and bank collections: overseas clients can pay by card at checkout or by bank collection, so a client who wants to use a corporate card is not forced into a bank transfer.
• Subscription billing: run monthly retainers as subscriptions for 1% extra on top of the standard fee, so a US client is charged automatically every billing cycle.

Pros

• Cards from US clients: because Playto acts as merchant of record, a US client can pay a US company by card, which helps when the client wants to pay with a corporate card.
• Cheap bank collections: bank collections cost 0.2%, with a USD 10 minimum, so a USD 5,000 transfer costs about USD 10 before any conversion margin.

Cons

• Cards cost more than the blog suggests: cards cost 4% + USD 0.50, with another 2% on cards issued outside the US; the 2.5% its blog quotes is only the checkout base rate.
• Margins and dispute fees: conversions may include a margin, and each dispute costs USD 50 regardless of the outcome.
• Slow payouts: payouts run weekly, every Monday once the buyer review period ends, and its supplier terms allow up to 180 days after delivery, which is a long time for an agency paying salaries.
• Licensing and paperwork gaps: Playto is not on RBI's list of cross-border payment aggregators, and its live pages do not mention a FIRA.

Pricing: cards 4% + USD 0.50 plus adjustments; bank collections 0.2% (minimum USD 10); subscription billing +1%; refunds USD 5; disputes USD 50; activation USD 9.99.

Verdict: useful for card-heavy US clients, but read the payout and dispute terms closely first.

Beyond the headline fee, agencies choose on five things: how fast international money arrives, whether each payment comes with a FIRA or FIRC, whether retainers can be collected automatically, what a dispute costs, and who is allowed to sign up.

This is where the eight differ most.

Two findings stand out for smaller agencies. If you are an individual on Razorpay, you must integrate PayPal to accept international payments, and Cashfree enables cross-border payments only for businesses.

A solo consultant or unregistered studio billing abroad therefore has fewer gateway options than it might expect.

For Indian retainers, remember that RBI's e-mandate rules let recurring debits of up to ₹15,000 go through without extra authentication, so larger retainers need the client to approve each charge, or a monthly invoice paid by bank transfer instead.

A USD 5,000 invoice from an overseas client costs between about USD 10 and USD 370 to collect, depending on the route.

Cards and PayPal sit at the top of that range; bank transfers into a receiving account sit at the bottom.

An international payment gateway that takes foreign cards is convenient but costly, while a payment gateway for international payments in India that works through bank transfers costs far less on agency-sized invoices.

Payment gateway charges in India also carry costs outside these headline rates: every Indian gateway adds 18% GST on its platform fee or MDR, card conversion margins are rarely published, and introductory offers exclude international payments.

On a USD 5,000 monthly retainer, moving the client from a card to a bank transfer saves roughly USD 157 a month compared with a 3% card route, or close to USD 1,900 a year, before any conversion margin.

The same logic holds for clients in the UK and Europe: a GBP 3,000 or EUR 4,000 invoice, each under the USD 5,000 equivalent, pays the USD 20 flat fee on Xflow's Growth plan, while a 3% card route takes about GBP 106 or EUR 142 including GST.

Ask Indian clients to pay large invoices by NEFT, RTGS or IMPS straight to your current account, which carries no gateway fee, and keep the gateway for smaller card, UPI and auto-debit payments.

Under RBI's rules, banks do not charge the beneficiary for an inward RTGS transfer, so receiving the money costs your agency nothing.

The saving grows with invoice size, because a gateway takes a percentage while a bank transfer does not:

On a ₹2 lakh monthly retainer, that is ₹56,640 a year in gateway fees you can avoid. The client's own bank may charge it a small fee for sending the transfer from a current account.

• When the gateway still earns its fee: clients who want to pay by card for the credit period, small UPI payments where speed matters, and retainers you want to auto-debit.
• Reconciliation for bank transfers: give each client a unique virtual account so payments match to invoices automatically; Cashfree, for example, charges a ₹20 platform fee per virtual account payment. Without one, ask clients to quote the invoice number and match each credit by its UTR.

For an agency billing ₹6 lakh a month in India and USD 15,000 a month abroad, payment costs range from about ₹68,400 to ₹7.75 lakh a year, depending only on which tools collect the money.

Here is the same agency under four setups, using each provider's published rates and an illustrative ₹95 to the dollar.

The agency: three Indian clients on ₹2 lakh monthly retainers, and three overseas clients each paying a USD 5,000 monthly invoice, for about ₹2.43 crore of revenue a year.

Setup A also carries FX charges on international cards and chargeback risk, which the table leaves out, so its real cost is higher still.

Setup C gives up card convenience for Indian clients, and Xflow's fee may attract GST under reverse charge. To model your own agency, multiply each client's monthly billing by the rate for its route, then add the flat per-invoice fees.

Whether you bill a retainer, milestone billing or a project fee, put two payment options on every invoice: a bank transfer as the preferred route, and a payment link as the fallback, with wording that tells the client exactly how to reference the payment.

Here is wording you can adapt.

For Indian clients

• Preferred: pay by NEFT, RTGS or IMPS to [agency name], account [number], IFSC [code], quoting invoice [number] as the reference.
• Or pay online by UPI or card: [payment link]. Online payments can take a few working days to reach us.
• Payment is due within 15 days of the invoice date (or your agreed NET-30 terms).

For international clients

• Preferred: pay by local bank transfer (ACH in the US, SEPA in Europe, Faster Payments in the UK) to the receiving account details below, quoting invoice [number].
• If a local transfer is not possible, pay by SWIFT to the same account, with charges set to OUR if your bank allows it, so the full amount arrives.
• Add the standard declaration for GST-registered agencies: supply meant for export under LUT without payment of IGST.

Asking for the invoice number as the reference is the single habit that makes reconciliation easy, whichever provider you use.

Before you move client billing to any provider, get written answers to these questions, because most of the costs that surprise agencies sit in the answers rather than on the pricing page.

• What is the standard settlement cycle for international money, and is the faster cycle on your page an offer?
• Will I get a FIRA or FIRC for every international payment automatically, and at what cost?
• Can you collect retainers automatically, and above what amount does the client need to approve each debit?
• What does a chargeback or dispute cost me, and at which stage do fees apply?
• Is my business type eligible for international payments, or only domestic?
• When does any introductory offer end, and which payment methods does it exclude?
• Are you on RBI's list of authorised cross-border payment aggregators?

An agency billing overseas clients usually needs a FIRA or FIRC for each foreign payment, and if it is GST-registered, a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) to invoice without IGST. Services to foreign clients paid in foreign currency are generally treated as an export of services, which is zero-rated under GST.

• GST registration: generally needed once aggregate turnover crosses ₹20 lakh (₹10 lakh in special category states).
• LUT: filed each year so export invoices can go out without IGST.
• FIRA or FIRC: proof that foreign currency reached India; receiving accounts such as Xflow issue an eFIRA for each transaction. Our guide to FIRC vs FIRA explains the difference.
• Purpose code: marketing and advertising agencies usually fall under P1007, and software and IT agencies under the P08 software codes. Our list of purpose codes for inward remittance covers the details.
• EEFC account: if you pay foreign vendors, you can hold foreign earnings in an EEFC account instead of converting everything.

Confirm your own case with a chartered accountant.

Xflow helps Indian agencies collect international client payments by bank transfer at a flat fee, so a USD 5,000 invoice costs USD 20 on the Growth plan instead of about USD 177 on an international card, and the money reaches your Indian bank the next business day.

• One account per client: give each overseas client, or each invoice, its own receiving account so payments reconcile themselves.
• Paperwork handled: an eFIRA within 24 hours for every international transaction, and a Zoho Books integration for your accounts.
• Licensed: final RBI authorisation as a cross-border payment aggregator, inward and outward (as of February 2026).

Keep your domestic gateway for Indian clients, and move overseas retainers and project invoices to Xflow. See Xflow's pricing to work out the cost for your own invoices.

Every fee, settlement time and feature in this guide comes from each provider's own website (pricing pages, product pages, offer terms or official blog), and every licence status from RBI's published list of payment aggregators, with bank transfer charge rules from RBI's own FAQs, checked twice on 30 September 2026. Fees exclude conversion margins unless the provider publishes them.

Tax positions reflect common practice and are not tax advice.

The best payment gateway for agencies is really a pair of tools.

Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU or Paytm handle Indian clients through UPI, cards, payment links and subscriptions, while Xflow handles international clients by bank transfer at a flat fee, with Skydo as a flat-fee alternative.

Keep cards and PayPal for clients who leave you no other choice, check each tool's RBI licence status, and put a FIRA and LUT process in place before your first export invoice.