PayPal vs Adyen (2026): Which Is Better for Receiving International Payments in India?

Each row applies the platform's published fee, FX markup and GST on the fee to the XE mid-market rate for 3 Nov 2026.

PayPal is a global digital wallet and checkout provider. In India it operates through PayPal Payments Private Limited, which offers Export Payment Services that let India-resident individuals and businesses receive payments from buyers outside India for the export of goods and services. Received funds are converted and credited to the user's linked Indian bank account through an authorised dealer bank.

• Regulated by: PA-CB in-principle authorisation granted to PayPal Payments Private Limited (RBI application status list, as on 01.10.2026)
• Used by: Yes. Businesses organised in, operating in or resident in India can open a business account (sole proprietors, partnerships/LLPs, companies).
• Best for: Receiving card and PayPal-wallet payments from overseas buyers who already use PayPal

Adyen is a Netherlands-headquartered payment platform for enterprise merchants. Its India page states it has operated in India since 2018 and holds RBI authorisations for domestic online payments and cross-border outward payments, which cover global brands collecting INR from Indian shoppers. It does not publish a product for Indian freelancers or exporters to receive foreign client payments into an Indian bank account.

• Regulated by: States it holds RBI authorisations for domestic (PA-Online) and cross-border outward (PA-CB-Outward) payments; not independently confirmed on an RBI list
• Used by: Indian businesses can use Adyen for domestic online acquiring (PA-Online, as stated by Adyen); use for receiving export payments from foreign clients is not confirmed
• Best for: Large enterprises accepting card and UPI payments from Indian shoppers

• PayPal: Not confirmed
• Adyen: Adyen's docs list INR as the settlement currency for its India acquiring connection, paid out locally to a bank account in India, and say payouts can take up to two days to arrive depending on the currencies and banks involved; no timeline for export receipts is published

• Choose PayPal if: you need receiving card and PayPal-wallet payments from overseas buyers who already use PayPal.
• Choose Adyen if: you need large enterprises accepting card and UPI payments from Indian shoppers.

For example, an exporter billing $5,000 a month: Adyen does not publish full pricing; PayPal does.

Other covered platforms ranked by the INR received on a $5,000 invoice.

Fees, FIRA terms and RBI status were checked on each platform's own pages and RBI sources on 30 Sept 2026. INR figures use the XE mid-market rate for 3 Nov 2026. The formula is on the methodology page.

1. PayPal India Merchant Fees, Receiving international transactions; Currency Conversions (3.0% converting balance and payments received; 4.00% all other cases); Withdrawals Out of PayPal; Dispute Fees; Other Fees (Last Updated 28 March 2024) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
2. PayPal India User Agreement, About our main business (Export Payment Services); Opening an Account; Restricted Activities (USD 10,000); Holds (180 days); Dispute Fee (guest checkout); Taxes and Information Reporting (GST) (last updated 13 January 2025) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
3. PayPal India Foreign Inward Remittance Advise (FIRA) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
4. PayPal India Know Your Customer (KYC) (checked 6 Oct 2026)
5. PayPal India Business (checked 6 Oct 2026)
6. RBI: Status of Applications received under Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (as on 01.10.2026), Table D: Existing PAs-CB which can operate as Payment Aggregator- Cross Border (checked 6 Oct 2026)
7. Adyen India, Established in India since 2018; RBI PA-Online and PA-CB-Outward authorisations (checked 7 Oct 2026)
8. Adyen pricing (India), Indicative fees: $0.13 fixed; Visa/Mastercard Interchange++ + 0.60%; Amex 3.95%; UPI defined by funding source; RuPay on request; minimum invoice depends on industry or business model; the fees outlined above are indicative; no monthly, set-up, integration or closure fees (checked 7 Oct 2026)
9. Adyen pricing (global), Fixed processing fee plus payment-method fee; no setup or monthly fees; minimum invoice depends on industry (checked 6 Oct 2026)
10. India expansion made easy, Accept online payments in INR from Indian shoppers with Adyen's own RBI licences (checked 6 Oct 2026)
11. Adyen Visa payment method (India), Visa: $0.13 + Interchange+ + 0.60%; no monthly fees, set-up fees, integration fees or closure fees; INR not listed among settlement currencies (checked 7 Oct 2026)
12. Adyen currency codes and FX management fee, Adyen applies a foreign currency exchange rate when a currency conversion takes place (FX reference rate) and charges an FX management fee, or spread, which by default differs based on the currency category; category one: AUD, CAD, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NOK, NZD, PLN, SEK, USD, ZAR; category two: all other currencies; how this fee is calculated is included in your contract with Adyen (checked 7 Oct 2026)
13. What kind of tax is applied to my invoice? (Adyen), Adyen India: GST rate 18% if the merchant is in Maharashtra. Or CGST of 9% and SGST of 9% if the merchant is located outside Maharashtra (checked 7 Oct 2026)
14. Adyen Docs: Supported payout currencies, India (IN): settlement currency INR, funds held in India, local payout; certain currencies can only be paid out to a local bank account within a country or region where that currency is the official legal tender: BRL, INR, MYR, MXN, and AED; SWIFT payouts are not supported for these currencies (checked 7 Oct 2026)
15. Adyen Docs: Getting paid, Depending on the currencies and banks involved, it may take up to two days for the payout funds to arrive in your account; like-for-like (no currency conversion) settlement if the currency is also supported as a settlement currency by the payment method (checked 7 Oct 2026)