E-commerce
What is a payment gateway?
Quick answer
A payment gateway is the service that securely authorizes and processes online payments between a customer, your store, and the banks. When a shopper pays, it encrypts the card or UPI details, checks for funds and fraud, and confirms the transaction. In India, common gateways include Razorpay, PayU, and Cashfree.
A gateway sits between your checkout and the payment networks, handling encryption, authorisation, and fraud checks so sensitive details never need to be stored on your own servers. Most charge a small percentage per transaction rather than a large upfront fee.
Choosing one comes down to the payment methods your customers use (cards, UPI, net banking, wallets, EMI), the fees, and how cleanly it integrates with your store. For Indian businesses, supporting UPI and local methods usually has the biggest impact on completed checkouts.
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