Updated October 2026
Quick answer: An ecommerce website with payment gateway support lets customers pay by UPI, card, net banking or wallet at checkout, and settles the money into your bank account. In India you need a registered business or proprietorship, a current bank account, a live website with policy pages, and a gateway account. Published fees run from about 1.95% to 2% of each transaction plus 18% GST, and most gateways charge no setup fee.
Selling online is easy to start and easy to get wrong at the payment step. A slow checkout, a missing payment method, or a gateway that rejects your KYC can cost you real orders. This guide explains how an ecommerce website with payment gateway integration works in India, what each popular gateway publicly charges, what you need to prepare, and how we build it for clients at Right Web Solution.
What an ecommerce website with a payment gateway actually does
A payment gateway is the secure layer between your store and the customer’s bank. When a shopper clicks Pay, the gateway collects the payment details on its own hosted page or widget, asks the bank to approve the payment, and sends your store a success or failure message. Your store then confirms the order. Later the gateway settles the money, minus its fee, to your bank account.
The important point for a store owner is that card details never need to touch your server. That keeps your store simpler to secure and keeps you on the right side of the card-storage rules covered below.
How the payment flow works step by step
Every ecommerce website with payment gateway support follows the same basic sequence, whether you run WooCommerce, Shopify or a custom build.
- The customer adds items to the cart and goes to checkout.
- Your store creates an order and passes the amount to the gateway.
- The gateway shows its secure payment screen with UPI, cards, net banking and wallets.
- The customer authenticates, usually with an OTP or UPI PIN.
- The bank approves or declines, and the gateway sends the result back to your store.
- Your store marks the order paid, sends the confirmation, and starts fulfilment.
- The gateway settles the money to your bank account on its settlement cycle.
Two details matter here. First, always confirm payment through the gateway’s server-to-server webhook, not only through the page the customer lands on after paying. Second, handle failed and pending payments properly so customers are never charged without an order.
Payment methods your ecommerce website with payment gateway should support
UPI is now the default way many Indians pay online. NPCI data reported by Outlook Money shows UPI processed 24.07 billion transactions worth Rs 29.37 lakh crore in September 2026. If your checkout does not offer UPI prominently, you are making it harder for most of your customers to pay.
A well-built ecommerce website with payment gateway support should offer UPI, debit and credit cards, net banking and popular wallets. Cash on delivery is worth keeping for some product categories, but it brings higher return and non-delivery losses, so many stores nudge customers toward prepaid orders instead.
What popular Indian gateways publicly charge
Fees change often, and several gateways run introductory offers, so treat the table as a starting point and confirm on the official page before you sign up. The figures below come from each gateway’s own pricing page, checked on 7 October 2026.
| Gateway | Published domestic fee | Setup fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Razorpay | 2% + GST | None listed | Page also describes a zero-MDR note for standard bank-to-bank UPI and a promotion for new users; custom pricing for high volumes. |
| Cashfree | 1.95% during its current offer period; the standard rate applies afterwards | Zero | 18% GST is charged on the platform fee. |
| Instamojo | 2% + ₹3 per transaction; 5% + ₹3 for digital products; 3% + ₹3 for corporate cards | Not stated on the page | GST is charged on top. |
| PayU | Not published on its pricing page | Not stated | Ask for a written quote. |
A fee that looks small adds up for any ecommerce website with payment gateway. On an average order of ₹1,500, a 2% fee is ₹30 before GST, and the fixed ₹3 on some plans matters more on small orders than large ones. Work out the cost against your own average order value before you pick. For a wider comparison of options, read our guide to the best payment gateway for a small ecommerce business in India.
What you need before you apply for a gateway
Gateways verify every merchant before an ecommerce website with payment gateway can go live, and rejected or delayed applications are the most common reason a launch slips. Prepare these before you apply:
- Your business PAN and, if registered, GST details.
- A current bank account in the business name, or the proprietor’s name for a sole proprietorship.
- Proof of business address and identity of the owner or directors.
- A live website with a clear privacy policy, terms, refund and cancellation policy, shipping policy and contact details.
- Real product pages with prices, because a store with placeholder content is often rejected during review.
Document lists differ by gateway and business type, so check the official onboarding page of the one you choose. If you also need to secure your site, see our note on a cheap SSL certificate in India, since every gateway requires HTTPS.
Card storage, tokenisation and security rules
The Reserve Bank of India has barred merchants and payment aggregators from saving customers’ actual card details. The RBI notification on card tokenisation says that from 1 January 2022 no entity in the card payment chain other than card issuers and card networks may store actual card data. Saved-card convenience is now delivered through tokens, with the customer’s consent.
In practice, use the gateway’s hosted checkout or official SDK, never build your own card form that posts to your server, and never log card numbers. Keep your CMS, theme and plugins updated, use strong admin passwords with two-factor login, and keep regular backups. These steps protect your customers and your reputation.
Choosing the platform for your ecommerce website with payment gateway
The platform decides how much work the gateway integration takes. WooCommerce and Shopify both have ready gateway plugins or built-in options, so integration is mostly configuration and testing. A headless or custom build gives more control and speed but needs proper API integration and more testing. If you are still choosing, our Shopify vs WooCommerce vs Odoo comparison and our guide to headless CMS for ecommerce explain the trade-offs. For the full picture of building a store, see ecommerce website development in India.
Testing your ecommerce website with payment gateway before launch
Do not launch on the first successful test payment of your ecommerce website with payment gateway. Run each of these on the gateway’s test mode, then once with a small real payment:
- A successful payment by UPI, card and net banking.
- A failed payment, a cancelled payment and a payment left pending.
- A refund, both full and partial.
- A customer who closes the browser after paying, to confirm the webhook still updates the order.
- Mobile checkout on both Android and iPhone.
Common mistakes on an ecommerce website with payment gateway
The mistakes we see most often on stores that come to us for fixes are simple. Checkout requires account creation before payment. The payment page loads slowly on mobile. UPI is buried below cards. Order status relies only on the redirect, so paid orders show as unpaid. Policy pages are missing, which also puts the gateway account at risk. Fixing these usually improves completed checkouts more than any design change.
Costs beyond the gateway fee
The transaction fee is only one line in the cost of running an ecommerce website with payment gateway support. Plan for the one-time cost of building and integrating the store, hosting that stays fast during sales, an SSL certificate, and regular maintenance and updates. Add refund handling too: gateways generally do not return their fee on a refunded order, so frequent returns raise your real cost per sale. Finally, budget for fraud and chargeback handling if you sell high-value or easily resold products.
When you compare quotes from developers, ask exactly what is included: gateway setup, webhook handling, test passes, and post-launch support. A low quote that leaves these out usually costs more later.
Launch checklist
- Gateway account approved and set to live mode, with live keys stored safely and test keys removed.
- HTTPS working on every page, including cart and checkout.
- Privacy, terms, refund, shipping and contact pages published and linked in the footer.
- Webhook URL registered with the gateway and verified with a real payment.
- Order, payment and refund emails tested end to end.
- Google Analytics purchase event tracking confirmed, so you can measure conversions from day one.
How Right Web Solution builds your ecommerce website with payment gateway
We build every ecommerce website with payment gateway integration on WooCommerce, Shopify or a custom stack from our Mumbai office, and we connect the gateway that suits your business. Our process covers gateway selection against your order values, onboarding support and document checklist, integration with webhook-based order confirmation, a full test pass, and a launch review. If you are in Mumbai, see our ecommerce website development company in Mumbai page for local details. Pricing depends on your platform and scope, so we quote after a short call rather than listing a fixed number here.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to add a payment gateway to an ecommerce website in India?
Most Indian gateways have no setup fee and charge per successful transaction. Razorpay lists 2% + GST, Cashfree lists 1.95% during its current offer plus 18% GST, and Instamojo lists 2% + ₹3 per transaction. The development work to integrate the gateway into your store is a separate, one-time cost that depends on your platform.
Which payment gateway is best for a new online store in India?
For a new store, pick the gateway that supports your platform without custom code, shows its fees publicly, and has a fast onboarding process. Razorpay, Cashfree and Instamojo all publish pricing and offer ready plugins for WooCommerce and Shopify. Compare the total cost on your own average order value before deciding.
What documents do I need to activate a payment gateway?
Typically a PAN, a business bank account, proof of business address, and your website with its policy pages live. Sole proprietors, partnerships and companies are asked for different KYC documents, so check your chosen gateway’s onboarding list before you apply.
Can I store my customers’ card details on my own website?
No. Under RBI rules in force since 1 January 2022, only card issuers and card networks may store actual card data. Merchants and payment aggregators use tokenisation instead, and a hosted gateway checkout keeps card details off your server.
Is UPI free for merchants?
It depends on the gateway and the transaction type. Razorpay’s pricing page describes zero MDR on standard bank-to-bank UPI while still listing a platform fee, so always confirm the exact UPI charge in your dashboard or contract before you rely on it.
Can an ecommerce website with a payment gateway accept international payments?
Yes, but international payments usually need a separate activation, extra documents, and a higher fee than domestic payments. Ask your gateway about currency support, fees and settlement before you promise overseas customers a checkout.
Get your store ready to take payments
Planning an ecommerce website with payment gateway support? Tell us your products, your platform preference and your expected order value, and we will recommend a gateway and give you a clear quote. Call +91 88509 07518 or email hello@rightwebsolution.com.
