How Startups Can Accept Online Payments in India?

A startup is a newly formed company with a vision of becoming a big business. It has a vision, young ambition, and rounds of seed funding. India is a booming market of startups, and most of them are in the digital domain. As per the official release of DPIIT, about fifty thousand startups are functioning in India as of 3rd June 2021.

Among startups, the majority are tech-based startups. There were around 1300 startups born in 2019 only, which means about three to four startups every day. Given the huge build-up for tech-based companies, demand for accepting online payments increased by leaps and bounds. Online payment methods in India are safe and secure for doing any business transactions and procedures.

If you are exploring online payment options for your startup, you need to refer to the following steps and tips for successful business growth.

First, let’s go through three major types of payment gateways for accepting online payments. You need to understand them to use them to accept online payments for your startup in India.

Payment Gateways for accepting online payments

As a startup, you need to set up an account using a payment gateway for the business. Refer to three categories of gateways and decide the best one for your venture. Startups can start accepting payments through any of these payment gateways.

1. Merchant Account

For a merchant account, you need to register your company credentials with the bank directly. Banks charge basic set-up charges for each transaction. Though they might seem expensive, they provide a very safe and secure system for your transactions.

A merchant account with banks has a limited amount of payment options: internet banking and cards. You might need some references for making work faster as a startup. Your merchant account functions as a collection point and transfers funds to your business account once verified.

This is useful mostly in card transactions, where verification is required. When someone transfers funds, it comes to your merchant account and is deposited into your current account after confirmation.

2. Third-party payment gateway

A third-party payment gateway is a process to skip the requirement of having a merchant account for accepting payments. Some companies facilitate payment transfers to your business account through their merchant account.

Your information gets processed at this platform and checks for any spam or fraud. Once verified and confirmed, your account is credited with the payment. These third-party payment gateway provider companies can provide staff management services such as Okstaff, cards processing, etc., to help you expand your startup through digital space.

Through easy and reliable payment processing, you will get more new customers and an increase in revenue.

Example: If you have an online grocery delivery app and there are multiple options for payment. It is most likely that more customers will approach your site. You will have more business and more revenue.

You can accept payment without opening a merchant account, and this simple and effective benefit attracts many startups to use these bahi khata management apps such as OkCredit.

The third-party payment gateway offers multiple payment options, including e-wallets, cards, internet banking, and more.

3. White label payment gateway?

The white-label payment gateway offers customised solutions for companies. A startup like yours can use your brand name while using third-party payment services. You can put your logo on this platform.

With having the logo and brand name, customers feel confident about making payments. Customers relate to the brand, and most of us want to see the brand name while paying the subscription, price, etc. A white label payment gateway facilitates such an option, and you can put your name for your esteemed customer’s convenience.

You can also build brand awareness and promotion without spending any extra money. Loyalty and trust develop among customers with the help of this payment gateway.

Startups and businesses from diverse industries use this type of payment gateways such as e-commerce, gaming sites, food delivery apps, and many more.

You must decide which of these three categories of payment gateways will be suitable for your business. Decide and get started with the payment gateway for receiving online payments.

Ways to accept online payments without payment gateway

Payment gateways are the most acceptable and used modes of receiving online payments by all businesses, including startups. But what if someone does not have a website or an app? How will they receive payments?

Worry not; we are giving a couple of the best online payment methods in the following paragraphs, refer and use for your startup and living a glorious future in business.

1. Payment links

You can create a link for the customers and share it through SMS, WhatsApp, etc. Customers can pay directly through the link. Most platforms provide links for all the major payment mediums, including e-wallets, debit, and credit cards.

Businesses without websites or apps can use this solution for receiving payment. You can also use the link option as an additional facility for the customers. Customers can choose the method of online payment out of several available mediums. This online payment method is simple, effective, fast, and safe.

Try this for instant payment for your business.

2. Customised payment pages

Some of the online payment facilitator companies also offer a page for custom payment pages. You can create a page on the dashboard and start receiving payments in a short and simple process.

The simple process of making a payment page does not need experience in coding or any computer language. Anyone can make a page by filling in some basic information and adding payment options.

Customers can visit the page and make the payment on a safe & secure platform. You can expand your online presence by offering multiple options for the customers, and it will develop a loyal customer base for your startup business.

3. Payment solutions for small businesses and freelancers

Small businesses and startups can ensure payment flow without a website or an app. Several companies offer an easy onboarding process and facilitate payment receiving instantly.

So, if you have just started a venture on a small scale, you can register at one of these websites and start accepting payments from clients. Your customers can have your details from the website and transfer them directly to your account.

You can also keep a digital record of all transactions through bahi khata apps such as OkCredit for an organised business operation.

Startups and small businesses need to sign up and fill in basic information on the website. After that, they can start accepting payments from anywhere in the world.

Conclusion

Payment is a crucial part of any business, whether it is a startup and an established company. The process of payment in business should be transparent, safe, and secure options. It is essential to understand your category of business, target audience, and suitable payment gateway.

The purpose of business should be to ease the customer journey and improvise their experience. A happy customer will be loyal to your company and eventually promote your company to their network.

Also read:

1) How to Know if Your Business Idea is Going to Be the Next Game Changer?
2) Why Do Businesses Need a Good ERP System?
3) What Are Some Good Startup Ideas?
4) Startup Ideas: How do you know if your Startup idea already exists?
5) OkCredit: All you need to know about OkCredit & how it works.

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FAQs

Q. How to select a payment gateway for a startup business?

Ans. A payment gateway facilitates your payment from clients. All three types of payment gateways have some common and distinctive features. Give yourself some time, consider what value you want to achieve by registering with the particular gateway, and choose accordingly.

Q. What about the safety of customer’s data in online payments?

Ans. Though there are some technical problems and black hat activities, online platforms are the safest option for payments overall. Companies and governments have taken various significant steps from time to time to improve, faster and safer online payment experience.

With multiple authentication and verification available, your data is safe.

Q. What are the various mediums of online payments?

Ans. There are dozens of mediums for paying and receiving payments online. Mediums vary from company to company. Some of the major mediums are credit cards, debit cards, Internet banking, gift cards, E-wallets, and several others.

Major e-wallets in India are GPay, PhonPe, Paytm, etc.