Architecture and Positioning
Razorpay is an Indian payment platform founded in 2014 by Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar. By 2026, it serves 10+ million businesses, from street tea stalls to Decathlon India. Valuation: $12 billion. The key differentiator from Stripe and Checkout.com: Razorpay was built for Indian realities — UPI, a dozen local wallets, Bharat QR.
Official website: razorpay.com
Technical Stack
API. REST API with idempotency keys, webhooks, and full English documentation. SDKs for Node.js, Python, Java, PHP, Ruby, Go, .NET. API documentation quality rivals Stripe — examples in all languages, interactive sandbox.
Checkout. Razorpay Checkout renders a payment form without redirecting to a third-party site. Supports CSS customization and custom fields. Critical for SaaS — no conversion leakage on an external domain.
Subscriptions. Razorpay Subscriptions is a full billing engine: trial periods, upgrade/downgrade, coupons, automated invoices. The de-facto standard for SaaS startups in India.
Payment Routing. Razorpay Route is a marketplace solution: automatic payment splitting, escrow, commission calculations. Stripe Connect equivalent, adapted for Indian regulations.
Security. PCI DSS Level 1, card tokenization (RBI-compliant — cards are not stored on the merchant side, mandatory in India since 2022). 3D Secure 2.0 support, WebAuthn for admin panel.
Indian Market Specifics
India is a unique payment market: UPI accounts for 85% of all digital transactions. Razorpay supports UPI AutoPay for subscriptions, giving access to 400+ million UPI users. Local methods include Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay. Without them, conversion in India drops 40-60%. EMI and BNPL integration for purchases above ₹10,000. Full RBI compliance including mandatory two-factor authentication.
International Capabilities
Since 2023, Razorpay has been expanding beyond India: international card support (Visa, MC, Amex), 100+ currencies, PayPal support for Indian sellers, and localization in Malay, Indonesian, and Thai. However, outside South Asia, Razorpay trails Stripe in local integration depth.
Affiliate Program
Razorpay Partners offers referral commission: a fixed rate per new business registration (₹500-₹2,000 depending on plan) plus a percentage of transactions. For affiliates outside India, payouts are available via PayPal and SWIFT. Interesting option for blogs targeting Indian audiences and diaspora.
When Razorpay Is the Right Choice
- Operating in the Indian market (can’t sell there without UPI)
- SaaS targeting South Asia
- Deep integration with Indian banking (NEFT, RTGS, IMPS) needed
- Building a marketplace with custom payment splitting
- RBI compliance required out of the box
Official website: razorpay.com