India is one of the world’s fastest-growing digital markets, with a large base of mobile-first users and rising demand for SaaS, content, and e-learning platforms. However, collecting subscription payments from Indian customers involves navigating a unique regulatory landscape shaped by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
If you’re a global business looking to accept automated payments from India, here are a few things to understand about the process, especially how payment methods, user preferences, and international payments are handled under current regulations.
| Table of Contents: |
| What Makes Subscription Billing in India Different? |
| Key Challenges for Global Businesses |
| Payment Methods That Work Best in India |
| What Does The Payment Workflow Look Like? |
| How PayU International Helps Businesses Accept Subscription Payments from India |
| Bottom line |
What Makes Subscription Billing in India Different?
India has a defined regulatory framework for recurring payments, shaped by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). These guidelines are designed to make billing experiences more secure and transparent for users, especially when it comes to repeat or automated charges.
Under these rules, global businesses must align with specific processes when they want to accept subscription payments from Indian customers. The approach may involve a few more steps than in other countries, but it helps improve user confidence and reduces payment failures or chargebacks over time.
Here’s how the RBI guidelines shape subscription billing in India:
1. User Approval for Mandates: Before setting up a subscription payment, customers need to complete a one-time authentication to approve the billing mandate, whether via card or UPI.
2. Advance Notification: For each recurring charge, customers receive a pre-debit notification at least 24 hours in advance. This gives them time to review or cancel if needed.
3. Tokenised Card Payments: Merchants are not allowed to store card details. Instead, cards must be tokenised for added security during recurring transactions.
4. Limits and Authentication: For recurring charges above ₹15,000, an additional user authentication step is required to complete the payment.
These guidelines apply to both domestic and international payments, which means that global platforms need to set up compliant, localised flows in order to collect recurring revenue from Indian users. Once integrated properly, the process runs smoothly and adds a layer of trust to your customer relationships.
Key Challenges for Global Businesses:
Adapting to India’s recurring payment environment requires more than just technical integration. Here are some of the common challenges international companies face:
1. Regulatory Compliance: Recurring payments must adhere to RBI rules, or they risk being blocked or reversed.
2. Fragmented Payment Preferences: Indian users don’t rely solely on cards. The payment methods also include UPI, wallets, net banking, and bank mandates.
3. User Expectations Around Trust: Sudden charges or unclear cancellation policies can quickly lead to disputes.
4. FX and Currency Flows: Managing INR and converting funds to your home currency comes with its own costs and systems.
5. Dispute Resolution: Subscription disputes often arise from confusion around renewals or a lack of timely cancellation.
Payment Methods That Work Best in India
To successfully bill Indian customers, supporting localised payment options is a must. Here’s a look at what works:
- UPI (Unified Payments Interface)
The most widely used digital payment method in India, UPI supports instant bank transfers. While it’s not fully enabled for international recurring flows, it’s ideal for initial or one-time payments.
- E-Mandates
These allow businesses to auto-debit from bank accounts securely, making them perfect for recurring models. They’re also compliant with the RBI’s framework and highly trusted.
- Credit/Debit Cards (with tokenisation)
Card payments still matter, especially among premium users. RBI requires tokenised card data and user authentication for recurring charges.
- Net Banking
Especially popular among older or more traditional users, net banking gives a sense of control and is available across most Indian banks.
- Mobile Wallets (Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay)
Convenient and fast, these platforms are popular for everyday transactions. Some support recurring mandates through UPI or eNACH integrations.
What Does The Payment Workflow Look Like?
As a result of the regulatory scenario, a general subscription payment workflow for a global business receiving payments from India looks something like this:
1. Mandate Setup: Customer agrees to recurring billing on your site. Mandate is authenticated via OTP (One-Time Password) or UPI pin.
2. Mandate Approval: The issuing bank validates and stores the tokenised payment method.
3. Pre-Billing Notification: Before each cycle, the customer is notified (via SMS/email).
4. Recurring Charge Execution: The charge is initiated. If it exceeds ₹15,000, re-authentication may be required.
5. Retry & Cancellation Logic: Failed transactions are retried (up to 8 times). Customers can cancel anytime through their bank or platform.
How PayU International Helps Businesses Accept Subscription Payments from India
When you’re selling to Indian customers from outside the country, managing subscriptions isn’t just about charging cards; it’s about aligning with local rules, preferences, and payment habits. PayU International Payments is built to support global businesses as it helps with:
1. Accept international payments in 130+ currencies while collecting payments in INR from Indian customers.
2. RBI-compliant recurring payment support, including pre-debit notifications, tokenisation, and secure e-mandates.
3. Integration with popular Indian payment methods like UPI, credit/debit cards, net banking, mobile wallets, and more.
4. Automated billing and retry logic to handle failed payments without manual intervention.
5. Dispute reduction tools that help manage subscription cancellations and refund workflows clearly.
Whether you’re running a SaaS business, digital media platform, or service-based app, PayU International Payments simplifies the complexities of handling recurring payments from India, so the business can focus on growing the subscriber base.
