How Can Indian Exporters Accept Card Payments from International Customers?

Accepting card payments from international customers involves three things: a permitted route for the money, merchant onboarding with the bank or aggregator, and the usual export paperwork. A card is only the payment instrument. The FEMA and GST rules for exports apply in the same way as for a bank transfer.

• Permitted channel: Receipts from a person outside India must come through an Authorised Bank or Authorised Person, under Regulation 3(2) of the FEMA (Manner of Receipt and Payment) Regulations, 2023. For countries outside the Asian Clearing Union, receipts may be in rupees or any foreign currency.
• Export rules: Regulation 4(1) of the FEMA export regulations, 2026 applies the Manner of Receipt rules to every export receipt. The 2026 regulations came into force on 1 October 2026 and contain no separate clause for cards.
• Who processes: A bank does not need RBI authorisation to act as a payment aggregator. A non-bank must apply to RBI for authorisation (paragraphs 5(a) and 5(b), Master Direction on Payment Aggregators).
• Aggregator types: RBI groups aggregators into PA-Physical (card and device together), PA-Online (card and device apart) and PA-Cross Border, which handles cross-border payments for onboarded merchants through e-commerce (paragraph 4(i)).
• GST status: A service supply to a customer outside India can be an export of services if all five conditions in section 2(6) of the IGST Act are met, including payment in convertible foreign exchange or in rupees where RBI permits. Exports are zero-rated under section 16.

The route a card payment takes decides which aggregator rules apply, so check the route before you send the first payment link. For the regulatory detail on each route, see RBI rules on export payments by card.

Any Indian seller of goods or services to overseas customers can accept card payments, whether a company, a partnership or an individual freelancer. The seller needs a bank account in India and must complete the bank's or aggregator's merchant due diligence. The rules that apply depend on the route, as the table shows.

You set up card acceptance by choosing a route, completing merchant onboarding, and putting your GST and invoicing steps in place before the first sale. After each payment you file the EDF where needed and help your AD bank close the EDPMS entry. The steps below follow that order.

1. Decide the route: your own bank's card acceptance, a domestic online checkout that accepts foreign cards, or a cross-border payment aggregator. Ask the provider which RBI category it operates under.
2. If the provider is a non-bank, check that it holds RBI authorisation or has an application pending (paragraph 5(b)). See how to check RBI authorisation.
3. Complete merchant due diligence. The aggregator retrieves your KYC record from CKYCR with your consent, and may use the simplified PAN, contact point verification and one officially valid document process for small merchants (paragraph 13).
4. If you are GST-registered and want to supply without paying IGST, furnish a Letter of Undertaking in FORM GST RFD-11 before the export (Rule 96A(1)). See LUT filing on the GST portal.
5. Raise an invoice for the full export value and share the payment link or checkout. Any charge on top of the price must be shown to the payer before the transaction (paragraph 10(c)). See export invoice format.
6. After settlement, check that the amount reached your own bank account in India and keep the settlement report for each invoice.
7. For services, file the EDF with your AD bank within 30 days from the end of the invoice month (Regulation 3(2)). See EDF form.
8. Give your AD bank what it needs to close the EDPMS entry. For invoices up to Rs 10 lakh, your declaration of realisation is enough (Regulation 4(2)). See EDPMS closure.

To accept card payments from international customers you need merchant KYC documents for onboarding, an export invoice for each sale, and the records your AD bank uses to close the EDPMS entry. GST-registered service exporters supplying without IGST also need an LUT on file. The table lists each document and its rule.

If an international card payment is charged back, the money returns to the customer and the export invoice is left unrealised in part or in full. The EDPMS entry stays open with your AD bank until you recover the amount or the bank records a reduced value. Long delays can restrict your future exports.

• Disputes: Every payment aggregator must have a dispute mechanism with refund timelines, which covers responding to chargebacks raised against its merchants (paragraph 8(a)).
• Refunds: Refunds go to the original method of payment unless the payer asks for another mode in the payer's own name (paragraph 10(f)).
• Reduced value: Your AD bank may allow a reduction in export value when you give reasons. For invoices up to Rs 10 lakh, your declaration is enough (Regulation 6). See reduction in export invoice value.
• GST exposure: Under an LUT, you bind yourself to pay tax with interest if payment for services is not received within one year or the FEMA period including extensions, whichever is later (Rule 96A(1)(b)).
• Future exports: Proceeds unrealised for more than one year after the due or extended date mean further exports need full advance or an irrevocable letter of credit (Regulation 13). See export proceeds not realised.

Keep proof of delivery for every card sale so you can answer a dispute within the window in your provider agreement. If a chargeback succeeds, ask the customer to pay again within the realisation period. If that fails, ask your AD bank for an extension under Regulation 5 or a reduction under Regulation 6, and check your GST position with your adviser.

The timeline for accepting international card payments starts before the first sale, with the LUT, and ends when your AD bank closes the EDPMS entry. The EDF for services is due within 30 days from the end of the invoice month. Full export value must be realised within nine months, or twelve if invoiced or settled in rupees.

• Skipping the EDF: Assuming a card receipt needs no declaration. Service exporters still file the EDF within 30 days from the end of the invoice month (Regulation 3(2)).
• Late LUT: Making the first zero-rated sale before filing the LUT. Rule 96A asks for it prior to export (Rule 96A(1)).
• Unchecked provider: Using a non-bank provider without checking its RBI authorisation status (paragraph 5(b)).
• Large invoices: Sending one invoice above Rs 25 lakh to a customer who will pay through a PA-CB. The cap is per transaction (paragraph 11(d)).
• Hidden charges: Adding a card fee at checkout without showing it to the payer first. Charges beyond the price must be displayed before the transaction (paragraph 10(c)).
• Third-party cards: Accepting a card in another person's name without telling your AD bank. Third-party receipts need the bank to be satisfied with the bona fides (Regulation 8).
• Open chargebacks: Leaving a charged-back invoice open in EDPMS. Ask your AD bank to record a reduction under Regulation 6 or extend the period under Regulation 5.

Every rule, deadline and form on this page is linked to its official source, checked on the dates below.

1. Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, Notification No. FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB (amended up to 22 September 2026), Regulations 1(2), 3(1), 3(2), 4(1), 4(2) and proviso, 5(1), 6, 8, 13, 18(1)(b) and 18(2) (checked 8 Oct 2026)
2. Foreign Exchange Management (Manner of Receipt and Payment) Regulations, 2023, Notification No. FEMA 14(R)/2023-RB, Regulation 3(2)(I)(a) (checked 8 Oct 2026)
3. Master Direction on Regulation of Payment Aggregator (PA), RBI/DPSS/2025-26/141, 15 September 2025, Paragraphs 4(i), 4(i)(ii) Note 2, 5(a), 5(b), 8(a), 8(b), 10(c), 10(d), 10(f), 11(d), 11(h), 11(i), 13(a), 13(b), 16(a) and Table 1 (checked 8 Oct 2026)
4. A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 20: Export and Import of Goods and Services, RBI/2025-26/194, 16 January 2026, Paragraphs 4 and 7 (checked 8 Oct 2026)
5. Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, Section 2 (Definitions), CBIC tax information portal, Section 2(6), export of services (checked 8 Oct 2026)
6. Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, Section 16 (Zero rated supply), CBIC tax information portal, Section 16(1) and 16(3) (checked 8 Oct 2026)
7. CGST Rules, 2017, Rule 96A (Export of goods or services under bond or Letter of Undertaking), CBIC tax information portal, Rule 96A(1)(a) and (b) (checked 8 Oct 2026)
8. GST Portal user manual: Furnishing of Letter of Undertaking (FORM GST RFD-11), Steps to file the LUT on the GST Portal (checked 8 Oct 2026)
9. Master Direction - Export of Goods and Services (FED Master Direction No. 16/2015-16; superseded from 1 October 2026), Paragraph A.3(ii), referred to in FAQ as superseded (checked 8 Oct 2026)