Payment Gateway Integration in India: Razorpay, PhonePe and Stripe Compared

Your website can be fast, beautiful and full of good products, and still lose the sale in the last ten seconds. A UPI request that never arrives, a card page that times out, an order marked “failed” after the money has left the customer’s account: these are payment problems, and they cost more than any design flaw. This guide covers payment gateway integration for website India: how Razorpay, PhonePe and Stripe compare, what onboarding needs, and what a reliable integration actually involves. It is the work our e-commerce website service does on every store we build.

Quick answer: For most Indian businesses selling within India, Razorpay or PhonePe Payment Gateway is the practical choice: both handle UPI, cards, net banking and wallets, and plug into Shopify and WooCommerce. Stripe is strong for international and export sales, but new Indian accounts are invite-only. Whichever you pick, a safe integration confirms payments on the server through webhooks, never just the browser redirect, and handles pending UPI payments and refunds properly.

How an online payment actually works

Understanding the flow makes every later decision easier:

1. Order created: your server creates an order with the amount and an order ID.
2. Checkout: the customer pays through the gateway’s checkout (UPI, card, net banking or wallet).
3. Authorisation: the bank or UPI app approves or declines.
4. Redirect: the customer returns to your “thank you” page.
5. Webhook: the gateway sends your server a signed message saying the payment succeeded or failed.
6. Fulfilment: your system marks the order paid, reduces stock and sends a confirmation.
7. Settlement: the gateway deposits the money, minus fees, into your bank account a set number of days later.

Step 5 is where most homemade integrations go wrong. The redirect can fail if the customer closes the tab or loses signal. The webhook is the source of truth.

Razorpay vs PhonePe vs Stripe at a glance

	Razorpay	PhonePe Payment Gateway	Stripe
Best for	Most Indian online businesses	UPI-heavy Indian businesses	International and export sales
UPI, cards, net banking, wallets	Yes	Yes	Cards; confirm Indian methods during invite
Plugins	Shopify, WooCommerce and many more	Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento listed	Wide global plugin support
Developer docs	Detailed	Developer APIs available	Among the most thorough
Onboarding for Indian businesses	Online sign-up with KYC	Online sign-up with KYC	Invite-only for new accounts
Published pricing	2% standard plus GST (see below)	Check with PhonePe	Varies; confirm during invite

Fees and features change often, so treat this table as a starting point and confirm on each provider’s own pages.

Razorpay

Razorpay is the most common choice among Indian startups and online stores, largely because it covers almost every domestic payment method in one checkout and has plugins for most platforms.

• Pricing: Razorpay’s pricing page, checked in October 2026, lists a standard 2% fee plus GST on successful payments, with no setup or annual maintenance fee. UPI and RuPay debit carry zero MDR, but the page notes a platform fee can still apply. Higher-volume businesses can ask for custom pricing.
• Strengths: broad payment methods, a well-documented API, payment links and subscriptions, and a familiar checkout for Indian customers.
• Watch for: read the settlement terms and any fees on specific methods, such as credit cards on UPI, before you go live.

PhonePe Payment Gateway

PhonePe is best known as a UPI app, and its payment gateway naturally leans into UPI, the method many Indian customers prefer.

• Pricing: PhonePe’s business site publishes general guides on payment charges rather than one simple rate card for every merchant. Ask for your rates in writing during sign-up.
• Strengths: a UPI-first checkout that many customers already trust, and plugins listed for Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento.
• Watch for: if a large share of your customers pay by international cards, check coverage and fees carefully.

Stripe

Stripe has some of the cleanest developer tools in the industry and is widely used worldwide. In India, though, it’s limited: Stripe’s India account help page says Indian businesses can’t sign up on the website and must request an invite, with a focus on businesses expanding internationally. Accepting international payments also needs an Import Export Code and RBI purpose codes.

• Good fit: Indian SaaS or service exporters billing overseas clients, if invited.
• For UAE businesses: a company in Dubai is in a different position entirely; Stripe and other gateways are evaluated on UAE terms. We set up gateways for the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the US as well as India.

Other options worth a look

Cashfree, PayU and CCAvenue are also widely used in India. Some businesses keep a second gateway as a backup for peak days. The integration principles below apply to all of them.

Ways to integrate a payment gateway

1. Platform plugin

On Shopify or WooCommerce, install the gateway’s official plugin, add your API keys and test. It’s quick and maintained by the gateway. If you’re still choosing a platform, our Shopify vs WooCommerce vs custom comparison covers how payments differ on each.

2. Hosted or redirect checkout

The customer is sent to a payment page hosted by the gateway, then returned. It’s simple and keeps card data off your servers.

3. Embedded checkout

The gateway’s checkout opens as a pop-up or panel on your own page. It feels seamless and still keeps card data with the gateway. This is the usual choice for custom websites.

4. Payment links and QR codes

For WhatsApp or Instagram sellers without a full store, payment links are a fast start. They don’t replace a proper checkout once order volume grows.

What a reliable integration includes

A demo that takes one test payment is not an integration. On a custom site or app, ask your developer for:

• Server-side order creation, so customers can’t change the amount in the browser.
• Signature verification on every payment response and webhook.
• Webhooks as the source of truth, with retries handled and duplicate events ignored (idempotency).
• Pending payment handling: UPI payments can sit “pending” for minutes. Show a clear message and don’t let customers pay twice.
• Refunds and partial refunds from your admin panel, not only the gateway dashboard.
• Reconciliation: a daily report matching orders, payments, refunds and settlements.
• No card storage: RBI’s card tokenisation rules mean merchants shouldn’t store full card numbers. Use the gateway’s checkout so card data never touches your server.
• GST-ready invoices and order emails.
• Logging and alerts when payment failures spike.

Onboarding: what gateways check

Gateways must verify merchants before activating live payments. Have these ready:

• PAN and a current bank account in the business’s name
• Business proof, such as GST registration where applicable
• KYC for owners or directors
• A live website showing products, prices and contact details
• Policy pages: terms, privacy, refunds and cancellations, and shipping

Missing policy pages are one of the most common reasons for delays. Write them before you apply.

Testing before you go live

1. Run every method in test mode: UPI, card, net banking, wallet.
2. Test failures: declined card, cancelled UPI request, closed tab mid-payment.
3. Check webhooks arrive and update orders even when the redirect fails.
4. Make one small real payment per method on a phone over mobile data, then refund it.
5. Confirm the settlement lands in your bank account and matches your report.

If you’re preparing for festive traffic, our Diwali ecommerce website checklist covers checkout testing alongside speed and stock.

Common mistakes

• Trusting the redirect. Orders go missing when customers close the tab.
• Ignoring pending UPI. Customers pay twice, then ask for refunds.
• Test keys left in production, or live keys committed to code.
• One payment method only. Many Indian buyers expect UPI; overseas buyers expect cards.
• No refund process. Manual refunds through the dashboard get missed.

Payment gateway integration checklist

• Gateway chosen for where my customers are
• KYC documents and policy pages ready
• Orders created on the server
• Webhooks verified and used to confirm payment
• Pending, failed and refund flows tested
• Real payments made and refunded per method
• Daily reconciliation in place

How Omebly can help

Omebly builds online stores on Shopify, WooCommerce and custom stacks, with payments through Razorpay, Stripe, PayPal and local options for India, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the US. Our e-commerce website service covers catalogue, cart and checkout, shipping and tax rules, order and inventory management, abandoned-cart emails, analytics and team training. New stores start from $4,000, with a fixed written quote after a free consultation. For stores we build, our support policy covers free fixes for bugs in our own code; third-party gateway outages and new features are separate. For the bigger picture on custom builds, see our custom website development guide.

Need a gateway added or fixed on your site? Contact us or message us on WhatsApp.