PayU International Payment Charges (2026): Fees, Forex Markup and Real Cost

PayU international payment charges are 3% per transaction, plus 18% GST on that fee, which takes the effective rate to 3.54%.

There is no setup fee or annual charge, and the money reaches your bank in rupees on a T+2 basis.

That headline number is only part of the picture, though, and it is where PayU's less visible charges sit.

PayU converts every foreign-currency payment into INR at its own exchange rate for the day, and it does not publish how that rate compares with the mid-market rate.

On a ₹1 lakh sale, a rate that sits just 1.5% below mid-market takes another ₹1,500 on top of the fee.

This guide breaks down every PayU charge on an international payment, works through the real cost in rupees, and compares PayU with Xflow for global businesses collecting payments from Indian customers.

• Transaction fee: PayU transaction charges on international cards are 3%, the same slab it uses for Amex and Diners cards and EMI.
• GST: 18% on the fee, so the real rate is 3.54% before any currency conversion cost.
• Hidden charges: PayU says it has no hidden charges, but the conversion margin, the priority settlement fee and chargeback costs are not shown in the 3%. PayU converts at its exchange rate on transaction date without disclosing the margin.
• Settlement: INR settlement in T+2 business days as standard, with faster options for a fee.
• Export proof: PayU does not say publicly whether it issues a FIRC for card settlements, so check before using it for export income.
• Best fit: PayU suits Indian businesses that want to accept international payments in India through an online card checkout. Global businesses collecting from Indian customers should compare PayU's cross-border product with Xflow, since both price it on request.

PayU charges 3% per successful international transaction, plus 18% GST, with no setup or annual fee. PayU payment gateway charges follow a pay-as-you-use model, and international payments fall in the higher 3% slab.

That 3% is PayU's MDR (merchant discount rate), the share of each payment the gateway keeps; some merchant agreements call it the TDR (transaction discount rate). Here is the full list, taken from PayU pricing as published in September 2026.

One detail is easy to miss. PayU's international payments page does not quote the 3% at all; it describes the charges as "nominal" and asks merchants to confirm with their account manager.

So the 3% is the standard rate, and businesses with higher volumes or a lower risk profile can often negotiate custom pricing.

PayU also notes that it can change its pricing at its own discretion, so check the current rate before you sign.

PayU international payments accept Visa, Mastercard, Amex and PayPal from customers in 150+ countries, across 135+ currencies, and settle to you in INR. Here is what each feature covers.

• Supported networks: Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards, plus PayPal as a wallet option.
• Countries: payments from cards issued in over 150 countries.
• Currencies: 135+ currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, AED, SGD and JPY.
• Local currency checkout: multi-currency pricing shows product prices in 27 local currencies, and Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) lets the customer pay in their own currency.
• Settlement currency: INR as standard. One PayU documentation page mentions INR or non-INR settlement, while its FAQ says international payments settle in INR, so check what applies to your account.
• Security: 3DS 2.0 authentication and real-time fraud detection on international cards.

The currency count is the headline, but for most Indian merchants the practical question is simpler: can your top three customer markets pay in a way they trust? For the US, UK, Europe and the Gulf, the answer is yes.

A $1,000 international payment through PayU leaves you about ₹91,637 after the fee and GST, at an illustrative ₹95 per dollar.

If the conversion rate also sits 1.5% below mid-market, you receive closer to ₹90,212. Here is how that breaks down for a customer in the US paying you $1,000.

• Gross value: $1,000 × ₹95 = ₹95,000.
• PayU fee: 3% of ₹95,000 = ₹2,850.
• GST on MDR: 18% of ₹2,850 = ₹513.
• Before conversion cost: ₹95,000 − ₹3,363 = ₹91,637 reaches you, an effective cost of 3.54%.
• If the conversion rate sits 1.5% below mid-market: a further ₹1,425 goes, leaving ₹90,212, an effective cost of about 5%.

The 1.5% in the last step is an assumption, not a PayU figure. Third-party comparisons put card gateway conversion margins at roughly 1.5% to 2.5%, and PayU does not publish its own.

Treat it as a scenario to test against your own settlement reports.

Here is how the same maths plays out at larger sizes.

A quick word on GST. If your business is GST-registered, the 18% charged on PayU's fee can normally be claimed as input tax credit, so it may not be a final cost.

The 3% itself, and any conversion margin, stay with you either way.

A quick PayU international payment charges calculator

To estimate any payment yourself, use this formula:

Amount you receive = payment amount × exchange rate × 0.9646, minus any conversion gap

The 0.9646 simply takes out the 3% fee and the GST on it. For a $2,500 payment at ₹95, that gives ₹2,29,092 before any conversion gap.

If PayU has agreed a custom rate with you, replace 0.9646 with 1 − (your rate × 1.18). A 2.5% rate, for example, gives 0.9705.

PayU does not list a separate forex markup, but that does not mean conversion is free. It settles international payments in INR "using the exchange rate on the transaction date", according to its international payments page.

What it does not say is whose rate that is, or how far it sits from the mid-market rate you see on Google or Reuters.

That gap is the FX spread, better known as the forex markup, and it is the one charge you will not find on any PayU pricing table.

You can measure it yourself in three steps:

• Pick a settled payment from your PayU merchant dashboard and note the foreign-currency amount and the INR credited.
• Find the mid-market rate for that currency on the transaction date.
• Compare the two. Divide the INR you received (before fees) by the foreign amount, and set that rate against the mid-market rate. The difference, as a percentage, is your conversion margin.

A note on DCC and local currency pricing: both help at checkout because customers know exactly what they are paying, but neither removes the conversion.

They only change where it shows up, and with DCC some of the conversion cost can sit with your customer instead of you. Ask PayU to state in writing who bears the conversion cost under your agreement.

PayU settlement time for international payments is T+2 business days as standard, with INR settlement straight to your bank account.

A card payment captured on Monday typically reaches your bank on Wednesday, while one taken on a Friday lands on Tuesday because weekends and bank holidays do not count.

PayU offers same-day and priority settlement for some business categories, but these carry a fee that depends on your business profile. If cash flow matters, ask for that fee in writing during onboarding, because it is not listed publicly.

To activate PayU international payments, you complete KYC, request cross-border activation and submit your business documents for review.

International card acceptance is not always on by default: new merchants go through verification first, and existing merchants request it through a support ticket or their Key Account Manager.

• Sign up and verify: complete KYC for the business.
• Request international payments: raise a ticket on help.payu.in or email care@payu.in (PayU's developer docs also point to your Key Account Manager).
• Submit KYC documents: PayU reviews your business before approval.
• Go live: once approved, no change to your existing integration is needed.

PayU's documentation lists the following for the review:

• Startups: one year of bank statements or two years of income tax returns.
• Businesses over two years old: two years of audited balance sheets and profit and loss statements.
• Industry documents: an Import/Export certificate if you sell physical products, or licences such as FSSAI or IATA where your industry needs them.

PayU notes that these requirements can vary case by case and by line of business.

Website policies matter too. Gateways generally expect a live website with clear pricing, refund and cancellation, privacy, and terms and conditions pages, plus visible contact details.

PayU says most businesses go live within a few days, although reviews for newer categories can take longer.

PayU says its pricing has "no hidden charges", and its published fees are clear, but several real costs sit outside the headline 3%: GST on the fee, the currency conversion margin, the priority settlement fee, and the cost of chargebacks and refunds.

None of them is a trick; most are simply not printed next to the rate.

Here is what each of the less obvious costs means in practice:

• Chargebacks: international cards carry a higher dispute and fraud risk than domestic ones. If an overseas customer disputes a payment, the amount is reversed, and you spend time gathering proof. PayU uses 3DS 2.0 and fraud checks, which reduce the risk but do not remove it.
• Refunds: a refund is converted back at a later date's rate. If the rupee has moved, the INR you return can differ from what you originally received.
• Priority settlement: worth budgeting for if you rely on faster access to cash.
• Export paperwork: if card payments are export income, you need proof of realisation for GST. Missing proof can cost more than any fee, which the next section covers.

Possibly, but PayU does not say so publicly, so get a clear answer before you rely on card payments for export income.

Its documentation defines a FIRC as proof of inward remittance to India, but it does not say how, when or whether it issues one for card settlements. That matters if you are a service exporter.

Export of services is zero-rated under GST when you supply under a Letter of Undertaking (LUT), and you keep that treatment by showing the foreign exchange was actually received.

The usual proof is a FIRC or FIRA tagged with the right purpose code for inward remittance, plus an eBRC on the DGFT portal if you claim export incentives.

Our guide to FIRC vs FIRA explains how the two documents differ.

Before you rely on PayU for export income, ask your account manager these four questions and get the answers in writing:

• Does PayU issue a FIRC, FIRA or remittance advice for international card settlements?
• Is it issued per transaction, per settlement or once a month?
• Which purpose code is reported for your payments?
• Will the details reach your bank so it can report the export against your invoices?

If the answers are vague, keep a clean trail that matches every invoice to its settlement, and check with your CA before claiming LUT treatment on card receipts.

If you receive international payments in India mostly from repeat business clients, ask every provider you shortlist for its remittance paperwork before you commit.

You can reduce PayU international payment charges by negotiating a custom rate, moving B2B clients to bank transfer and watching the conversion rate.

PayU says its pricing depends on payment mode, industry, risk profile and volume, which gives you room to act.

• Negotiate at volume: once your international sales are steady, share three to six months of numbers with your Key Account Manager and ask for a custom rate below the standard 3%.
• Move B2B clients off cards: clients who pay invoices can pay by bank transfer instead, which removes the 3% and the chargeback risk for that revenue.
• Audit the rate every month: run the three-step forex check on a few settlements. If the gap keeps widening, you have a concrete point to raise.
• Ask about foreign-currency settlement: if you hold an EEFC account and pay foreign suppliers, ask whether PayU can settle you in foreign currency, since its documentation is not consistent on this. Where it can, you avoid converting the same money twice.
• Pay for speed only when needed: keep standard T+2 settlement unless cash flow truly depends on faster access.
• Claim the GST back: make sure your accounts team books the GST on PayU's fee as input tax credit.
• Cut chargebacks at source: use a billing descriptor customers recognise, keep proof of delivery, and refund quickly when a customer asks, before they go to their bank.

PayU, Razorpay and Cashfree all start at about 3% on international cards plus 18% GST. Payment gateway charges in India for cards sit close together, so the differences come down to add-on fees, settlement speed and how openly each provider shows its exchange rate.

Razorpay international payment charges, for example, list a 3% platform fee on international cards plus 1% for chargeback protection and FX charges, or 1% on international bank transfers.

All figures below come from each provider's own pricing page as of September 2026.

So, is PayU better than Razorpay? On the headline card rate, PayU's 3% is simpler, since Razorpay adds 1% for chargeback protection plus FX charges on international cards. Razorpay typically settles faster and publishes a zero-markup rate for bank transfers.

PayU's strengths lie in its wide international card acceptance (135+ currencies) and its PayPal integration.Razorpay alternatives.

PayU does not publish a fee for its cross-border product that lets global businesses collect payments from Indian customers; you start by requesting a callback, then complete KYC before going live. What PayU does publish is how the product works:

• Payment methods: 20+ local methods, including UPI, netbanking and cards, with no Indian entity needed.
• Subscriptions: recurring billing through card standing instructions, UPI AutoPay and eNACH, with automated retries.
• Offshore settlement: T+2 working days to your offshore bank account, excluding bank and forex holidays.
• Limit: each transaction for goods or services is capped at ₹25,00,000 under RBI's cross-border rules.
• Paperwork: every transaction needs a copy of the digital invoice and its invoice number, plus an airway bill for physical goods.
• Fund flow: payments collect in an import collection account with an AD Category-I bank before settlement.

So for a global business, the headline 3% on PayU's pricing page does not apply; your rate is whatever you negotiate, which makes it worth comparing providers on everything except a published price.

PayU and Xflow both let a business outside India collect from Indian customers in INR and settle offshore in T+2, with no Indian entity. The differences are in the details below, taken from each provider's own pages.

If you already run Indian payments through PayU, its cross-border product keeps everything with one provider. If you want a checkout that carries your brand and settles straight to your existing overseas account, Xflow is built for exactly that.

Ask both for a quote on the same monthly volume and payment mix.

Xflow lets a company outside India accept payments from Indian customers the way they already pay, and settles the money abroad, without an Indian company, bank account or India payments hire.

• Customer reaches checkout: the price shows in INR, with no international card prompt.
• Customer pays locally: by UPI, card, netbanking or bank transfer, or sets up a UPI AutoPay, card or e-NACH mandate for subscriptions.
• Xflow processes the payment: regulatory requirements are handled with an AD Category-I banking partner, so you need no India compliance team.
• Funds settle overseas: in T+2, in your chosen currency, to your existing bank account.

Xflow reports 90%+ success rates on UPI, which matters in a market where more than 500 million people pay with UPI. Pricing is custom, so talk to Xflow for a quote on your volume.

You stay the seller of record, so your own India tax obligations stay with you.

PayU international payment charges are simple on paper: 3% per transaction, 18% GST on the fee, no setup cost and T+2 settlement.

The real cost sits higher once you account for the exchange rate, which PayU does not disclose, along with chargebacks and refunds on foreign cards.

If you sell online to customers around the world, a card gateway like PayU earns its fee, and it is worth comparing its rate, add-on fees and settlement time with Razorpay and Cashfree.

If you are a global business collecting from Indian customers, the 3% does not apply: PayU's cross-border product and Xflow both price on request, so compare them on payment methods, recurring support, settlement and checkout.