Choosing a payment gateway in India is not only about which one supports your preferred payment methods. The real differences appear in settlement timelines, fee structures and chargeback handling. These three factors determine how much money you actually receive, how predictable your cash flow becomes and what risks you carry when accepting cards from domestic or international customers.
Gateways may look similar on the surface, but once you dig into their operational policies, you find meaningful differences in cost, speed and merchant liability. This blog breaks down how settlement timing, pricing and dispute rules vary across major Indian gateways and why exporters or freelancers sometimes choose specialised cross border platforms instead.
Why Settlement Time, Fees, and Chargebacks Matter
- Settlement Time affects business cash flow.Fast settlements help with operational expenses. Slow settlements make it difficult to plan payouts, salaries or vendor payments.
- Fees directly reduce the revenue you retain. Small percentage differences can create large gaps across monthly or recurring payments.
- Chargeback Rules decide how protected or exposed a merchant is when a customer disputes a transaction. These rules differ for domestic cards, international cards and cross border commerce.
Understanding these areas helps Indian businesses choose the right gateway based on the kind of payments they expect to receive.
Settlement Times Across Major Indian Payment Gateways
Settlement speed varies depending on whether the payment is domestic or international, the risk category of the merchant and internal gateway policies.
| Gateway | Domestic INR Settlement | International Payment Settlement |
| Razorpay | Usually one or two business days (T+1 or T+2). | Longer due to additional verification and foreign exchange processing. First few international payouts often take several days. |
| Cashfree Payments | Quick, following a one or two day cycle. | More time is required for foreign currency processing, purpose code mapping and additional documentation. |
| PayU India | Settles domestic transactions in one or two days (T+2 is common). | May take longer, dependent on the merchant category, new account status, or high value invoices. |
| CCAvenue | Settles within one or two business days. | Foreign payments involve conversion and regulatory checks that extend the timeline. |
Note: Across all gateways, international settlements take longer than domestic ones due to the additional layers of banking and compliance involved. This is built into the regulatory structure, not simply a policy choice by the gateway.
Fee Structures for Domestic and International Payments
Indian payment gateways generally charge differently for domestic and international transactions. Domestic payments are cheaper because they move through Indian networks. International payments cost more because they involve global card networks and currency conversion.
Domestic INR Fees
- These are generally in the range of 1 to 2 percent for Indian cards, UPI and netbanking.
- UPI based payments are often the lowest cost.
International Card Fees
International cards attract higher fees, typically charging anywhere between 3 and 4.5 percent or more. Additional costs may include:
- Cross border fee
- Currency conversion markup
- Compliance processing fee
- Fixed transaction charges
Warning: Because these fees are percentage based, they scale with your invoice size. Larger foreign payments mean larger absolute deductions. Some gateways also add costs for recurring billing or subscription payments.
Chargeback Rules and How They Work
Chargeback rules determine what happens when a customer disputes a payment. In India, chargebacks follow global card network rules for foreign cards and Indian banking rules for domestic cards.
| Chargeback Type | Process and Merchant Liability |
| Domestic Chargebacks | Follow a more streamlined flow. Merchant is asked for proof of delivery or service. If evidence is strong, the dispute may be resolved in the merchant’s favour. |
| International Chargebacks | More complex and less predictable. Card networks tend to protect cardholders more strongly in cross border transactions. This results in: <ul><li>Disputes taking longer</li><li>Stricter evidence requirements</li><li>Higher chance of losing a dispute</li><li>Chargeback fees applied per case</li></ul> |
Risk Note: For high chargeback industries, gateways may withhold a rolling reserve or delay settlements until risk stabilises. Gateway policies also differ: some offer more merchant support during chargebacks, while others shift most liability to the merchant.
Why Exporters and Freelancers Face Higher Exposure with Traditional Gateways
When receiving payments from foreign clients, card based gateways are often costly and slow:
- International transaction fees are high
- Currency conversions involve markup
- Settlement timelines are longer
- Chargeback risks are significantly higher
- Purpose code and inward remittance documentation still need to be handled manually
For freelancers, agencies and consultants, these issues reduce net revenue and add administrative overhead.
Why Many Service Exporters Choose India Focused Cross Border Platforms Instead
A growing number of Indian businesses rely on platforms designed specifically for export payments rather than card gateways. These platforms typically avoid card networks and instead use foreign bank transfers or virtual foreign currency accounts.
This structure is far more efficient for businesses that primarily invoice foreign clients rather than sell goods to global consumers, resulting in:
- Lower fees due to flat pricing
- Conversion at live interbank rates instead of marked up rates
- Minimal chargeback exposure because transactions are account to account
- Faster and more predictable settlements
- Automatic inward remittance documentation
Where BRISKPE Fits Into This Comparison
BRISKPE is a good example of a platform built specifically for Indian exporters.
- Collection Method: It does not rely on traditional card rails for cross border payments, instead providing virtual accounts in major foreign currencies. This eliminates typical card gateway issues such as high chargeback rates, long settlement timelines and percentage based fees.
- Settlement & Compliance: BRISKPE settles funds in one to two business days after conversion at live rates and handles inward remittance documentation automatically.
For service exporters, this often results in higher take home revenue and simpler workflows compared to card gateways.
Final Thoughts
Settlement speed, fee structures and chargeback rules vary widely across Indian payment gateways. Domestic payments are straightforward, but international card payments are costlier, slower and riskier. While global gateways suit businesses that need card billing or mixed customer bases, export oriented companies benefit more from platforms built around account to account transfers, live conversion and Indian compliance.
Understanding these differences helps you pick the right system for both your revenue model and your cash flow needs.
