A checklist for Indian merchants comparing offers from banks, payment aggregators and gateways for cards, UPI, terminals and soundboxes.
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Use this checklist when you request or compare offers for card, UPI and gateway acceptance. Work through it with your own sales data, not the provider's sample.
How to use it. First export three months of transactions from your current terminal, gateway dashboard or bank statement and split them by payment method and ticket size. Then ask every provider for the same written details: rate per card type and channel, fixed fees, device costs, settlement time and dispute terms. Compare the offers on an effective rate: total fees and charges for your actual mix divided by your digital sales. The MDR fee calculator and the monthly cost estimator help with the arithmetic.
Worked example (illustrative). Offer A quotes a single 1.6% on all cards; offer B quotes 0.9% on non-RuPay debit and 1.9% on credit cards. On ₹2 lakh of debit and ₹1 lakh of credit sales, A costs ₹4,800 and B costs ₹1,800 + ₹1,900 = ₹3,700. The headline rate alone would have pointed the wrong way.
Limits. The checklist is general. It does not rank providers. For a large or unusual business, ask your chartered accountant to review the GST and the contract. See how to compare payment offers.
Failure Patterns, Disputes, Security and Official Sources
Why merchants may not store card numbers since 1 October 2022, how card-on-file tokens work, what PCI DSS means for a small business, the 2026 authentication rules and DPDP.
Failure Patterns, Disputes, Security and Official Sources
How card and UPI disputes work for merchants in India, the RBI turnaround times for failed transactions, how to respond to a chargeback and what refunds cost.
Cost Examples and Choosing an Acceptance Set-up
A step-by-step method for Indian shops, service firms and online sellers to choose how to accept digital payments, based on ticket size, card mix, channel and cash flow.
Cost Examples and Choosing an Acceptance Set-up
A method for Indian merchants to compare offers from banks, payment aggregators and gateways on an effective-rate basis, with an illustrative three-offer comparison and red flags.
Failure Patterns, Disputes, Security and Official Sources
Common payment frauds against Indian merchants at the counter and online, how soundboxes and settlement checks help, and where to report fraud.
Failure Patterns, Disputes, Security and Official Sources
The RBI, NPCI, Department of Financial Services, gazette, tax and complaint websites Indian merchants should use to check payment fee rules, with what to look for on each.
