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Stripe vs Revolut (2026): Which Is Better for Receiving International Payments in India?

Author:: Editorial team, serviceexportguide.com
Verified by:: Editorial team
Published: 28 October 2026
Last modified: 28 October 2026
Fees checked on: 28 October 2026
Reading time: 12 min read

Short answer

Neither Stripe nor Revolut publishes enough pricing to estimate the cost of a USD 5,000 receipt, so there is no cost verdict. The better choice depends on how your client pays: Stripe is best for card checkout and subscriptions, and Revolut is best for personal spending, not export receipts.¹²³⁴

Use case	Better option	Why
Bank transfer of USD 5,000	Cannot compare	Neither publishes full pricing for this case.
Bank transfer of USD 2,000	Cannot compare	Neither publishes full pricing for this case.
Client paying USD 2,000 by card or link	Cannot compare	Neither publishes full pricing for this case.
Stripe is best for	Stripe	Card checkout and subscriptions.¹²
Revolut is best for	Revolut	Personal spending, not export receipts.³⁴

Invoice amountCurrencyHow the client pays

1,000 USD = ₹94,243 at the reference rate for 13 November 2026 (European Central Bank data).

Estimated rupees received, on published fees

Sorted by estimated rupees received, highest first. Only providers that publish both their fee and their conversion markup for this currency and method can be estimated.

#	Provider and route	Best for	Fee (+GST)	Markup	You receive	Cost
1	Karbon BusinessLowest estimated costBank transfer to a Karbon virtual USD account	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts	₹942plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹93,131 to ₹93,301	1.00 to 1.18%
2	RazorpayMoneySaver Export Account: bank transfer to virtual account details (Standard plan)	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone	₹1,000plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹93,063 to ₹93,243	1.06 to 1.25%
3	WinvestaGlobal Collections Account, standard plan (up to 2,000 a month per currency)	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee	₹1,435	0%	₹92,809	1.52%
4	SkydoPayment link (InstaLinks) paid by ACH debit	Local bank transfers from major markets	₹1,885plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹92,019 to ₹92,358	2.00 to 2.36%
5	PayoneerLocal bank transfer to Payoneer receiving account details	Marketplace payouts such as Amazon or Upwork	₹0no GST stated	1 to 4%	₹90,473 to ₹93,301	1.00 to 4.00%
6	PayPalInternational commercial transaction received into a PayPal account (PayPal checkout or invoice)	Clients paying by card or PayPal balance	₹4,175no GST stated	3 to 4%	₹86,465 to ₹87,366	7.30 to 8.25%

Not estimated because pricing is not fully published: Cashfree Payments, Dodo Payments, PingPong, Stripe, Tazapay, TransFi, Wise.

Where a provider says GST applies to its fee but not at what rate, the range runs from no GST to 18%, the rate Skydo, Stripe and Winvesta state on their pages. Estimates use each provider's published fee, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charge, checked 2026-10-28, against the reference rate. They exclude charges taken by intermediary banks and your own bank, and the rate a provider actually applies at the time of conversion. Check the provider's pricing page before you choose. The order is calculated only from these published numbers; no provider can pay to change its position, and there are no affiliate links.

How do Stripe and Revolut compare at a glance?

Stripe and Revolut compare on the twelve points below, using each provider's published information as checked on 28 October 2026. Where a provider does not publish something, the table says so.⁵⁶⁷

	Stripe	Revolut
Best for	Card checkout and subscriptions¹²	Personal spending, not export receipts³⁴
Fees	3% for Visa and Mastercard cards issued outside India, 3.5% for American Express cards issued outside India, and 4.3% for international cards with USD or other non-INR presentment, per successful charge.⁵⁶	Revolut says it does not charge fees for receiving a bank transfer into the INR account by UPI.⁷
FX markup	Additional 2% if currency conversion is required. Stripe does not publish on these pages exactly which export charges need conversion.⁵⁶	Not applicable to receiving: the India wallet holds INR only. No inward conversion rate is published.³
Settlement	Each daily payout includes international card payments processed five business days earlier. No payouts on weekends or public holidays. Seven-day waiting period for the first payout, which can be longer for high-risk industries.⁸	Revolut says UPI transfers to the INR account are usually instant.⁷
FIRA	Stripe does not issue a FIRC itself. Standard Chartered Bank emails a payment advice (payee advice) to the registered Stripe email on the day an export payout is processed; Stripe says to present it to your own bank to request a FIRC. Cost of the FIRC from your bank: not published by Stripe.⁹¹	Not published. Revolut's India pages do not mention a FIRA or FIRC.
Currencies	Stripe says it supports presentment in 135+ currencies on Visa and Mastercard, and INR or USD on American Express.¹⁶	INR only for the India wallet. Revolut's India terms say PPIs can only be used for payments in Indian rupees.³⁷
KYC: who can sign up	By invite only: Indian businesses cannot sign up through the website and must request an invite. International payments are open to sole proprietorships, LLPs and companies. Individuals can use Stripe India for domestic payments only. Non-profits, NGOs and simple partnerships are not supported.¹²¹⁰¹¹	Individuals, for personal use. Revolut's India terms say you cannot use a Revolut Account for business purposes. Revolut Business requires a company registered in the UK, the EEA or the US; India is listed only as a country where an applicant for such a company may reside.³¹²
RBI PA-CB status	RBI lists Stripe India Private Limited as an authorised Payment Aggregator Online (PA-O, 'Stripe', dated 15.01.2024), not as a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PA-CB). RBI's application status list as on 16.10.2026 shows its new PA-CB application returned on 12.07.2024 and marks it as withdrawn by the entity. Stripe says it withdrew the PA-CB application based on RBI guidance and continues cross-border services for Indian businesses on an invite-only basis. Stripe names Standard Chartered Bank as the bank that issues payment advice for export payouts.¹³¹⁴¹⁵¹⁹	Revolut Payments India Private Limited is listed by the RBI as a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuer, authorised on 4 April 2025. It does not appear on the RBI list of authorised PA-CB entities as on 16 October 2026.¹³³
Support	Not published for Indian users on the pages checked; prospective users fill in a contact form to request an invite.	Revolut India publishes 24/7 in-app chat, support-india@revolut.com and a phone number.³
Limits	Up to ₹25 lakh per export transaction for sole proprietorships, LLPs and companies.¹⁶	Up to 25 inbound UPI transfers or INR 4,00,000 a day, whichever comes first, and a total INR balance of no more than INR 2,00,000 at any time.⁷
How clients pay	Foreign customers pay by card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), Apple Pay or Google Pay through a Stripe checkout, payment link, invoice or subscription. Cards must be issued outside India and the customer must give a non-Indian billing address. International card payments require 3D Secure authentication.¹⁰¹⁷¹	Revolut India says money can be received into the INR account by UPI only; NEFT, IMPS and RTGS are not supported. No route for a foreign client to pay a Revolut India account from abroad is published.⁷³
Card payments	Yes, card payments are the core method: 3% (Visa or Mastercard issued abroad, INR presentment), 3.5% (American Express issued abroad), 4.3% (non-INR presentment), plus 2% if conversion is required. GST at 18% is charged on Stripe fees.⁵¹⁸	Not available for receiving. Revolut India does not publish a way to accept card payments from clients.³⁷

How much INR do you receive on $2,000, $5,000 and $10,000 with Stripe vs Revolut?

The INR you receive with Stripe and Revolut is the invoice at the reference rate, less each provider's fee, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charge. The table works this out from published pricing at today's rate.

None of these providers publishes both a fee and a conversion markup for USD.

Not estimated because pricing for USD is not fully published: Stripe.

Ranked by INR received on USD 5,000. Reference rate: European Central Bank data for 13 November 2026. Fees, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charges as published by each provider, checked 28 October 2026. Ranges appear where a provider publishes a range or does not state its GST rate. Intermediary bank charges are excluded. See the methodology.

What is Stripe and who is it for?

Stripe is a US-headquartered online payments company whose India accounts, available by invite only, let registered Indian businesses accept card and wallet payments from customers abroad and receive payouts in INR.¹⁶

Regulated by: RBI lists Stripe India Private Limited as an authorised Payment Aggregator Online (PA-O, 'Stripe', dated 15.01.2024), not as a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PA-CB). RBI's application status list as on 16.10.2026 shows its new PA-CB application returned on 12.07.2024 and marks it as withdrawn by the entity. Stripe says it withdrew the PA-CB application based on RBI guidance and continues cross-border services for Indian businesses on an invite-only basis. Stripe names Standard Chartered Bank as the bank that issues payment advice for export payouts.¹³¹⁴¹⁵¹⁹
Used by: By invite only: Indian businesses cannot sign up through the website and must request an invite. International payments are open to sole proprietorships, LLPs and companies. Individuals can use Stripe India for domestic payments only. Non-profits, NGOs and simple partnerships are not supported.¹²¹⁰¹¹
Best for: Card checkout and subscriptions.¹²

What is Revolut and who is it for?

Revolut in India is a personal app run by Revolut Payments India Private Limited, an RBI-authorised prepaid payment instrument issuer whose INR wallet cannot be used for business purposes.³¹³

Regulated by: Revolut Payments India Private Limited is listed by the RBI as a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuer, authorised on 4 April 2025. It does not appear on the RBI list of authorised PA-CB entities as on 16 October 2026.¹³³
Used by: Individuals, for personal use. Revolut's India terms say you cannot use a Revolut Account for business purposes. Revolut Business requires a company registered in the UK, the EEA or the US; India is listed only as a country where an applicant for such a company may reside.³¹²
Best for: Personal spending, not export receipts.³⁴

How do Stripe and Revolut fees and FX markup compare?

Stripe and Revolut charge in different ways, so compare the fee and the conversion markup together, not the headline fee alone.

What does Stripe charge?

Transaction type	Fee	FX markup	GST on fees	Best for
Visa or Mastercard issued outside India, charged in INR	3%⁵⁶¹⁸	0%	18%	Clients paying by card
American Express card issued outside India	3.5%⁵¹⁸	2%	18%	Clients paying by card
International card with USD or other non-INR presentment	4.3%⁵⁶¹⁸	2%	18%	Clients paying by card

What does Revolut charge?

Fees: Revolut says it does not charge fees for receiving a bank transfer into the INR account by UPI.⁷

How do Stripe and Revolut compare on settlement speed?

Stripe and Revolut publish these settlement times for money reaching an Indian bank account.

Platform	Settlement time	Payout to India	Best for
Stripe	Each daily payout includes international card payments processed five business days earlier. No payouts on weekends or public holidays. Seven-day waiting period for the first payout, which can be longer for high-risk industries.⁸	Automatic daily payouts in INR only to the Indian bank account. Export payouts are made separately from domestic payouts and are labelled International. Manual, weekly and monthly schedules are not available. No payout fee is stated.⁸¹⁶	Card checkout and subscriptions¹²
Revolut	Revolut says UPI transfers to the INR account are usually instant.⁷	Revolut says unloading the INR wallet is free on the Standard plan.⁴	Personal spending, not export receipts³⁴

Do Stripe and Revolut provide FIRA and e-BRC, and are they RBI PA-CB authorised?

Stripe and Revolut publish the FIRA position and RBI status below, checked on 28 October 2026. An e-BRC is generated by the exporter on the DGFT portal from bank remittance data, so it does not depend on the provider issuing one.³⁸

Platform	FIRA	RBI PA-CB status	Best for
Stripe	Stripe does not issue a FIRC itself. Standard Chartered Bank emails a payment advice (payee advice) to the registered Stripe email on the day an export payout is processed; Stripe says to present it to your own bank to request a FIRC. Cost of the FIRC from your bank: not published by Stripe.⁹¹	RBI lists Stripe India Private Limited as an authorised Payment Aggregator Online (PA-O, 'Stripe', dated 15.01.2024), not as a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PA-CB). RBI's application status list as on 16.10.2026 shows its new PA-CB application returned on 12.07.2024 and marks it as withdrawn by the entity. Stripe says it withdrew the PA-CB application based on RBI guidance and continues cross-border services for Indian businesses on an invite-only basis. Stripe names Standard Chartered Bank as the bank that issues payment advice for export payouts.¹³¹⁴¹⁵¹⁹	Card checkout and subscriptions¹²
Revolut	Not published. Revolut's India pages do not mention a FIRA or FIRC.	Revolut Payments India Private Limited is listed by the RBI as a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuer, authorised on 4 April 2025. It does not appear on the RBI list of authorised PA-CB entities as on 16 October 2026.¹³³	Personal spending, not export receipts³⁴

Which currencies, countries and payment methods do Stripe and Revolut support?

Stripe and Revolut accept the currencies and payment methods below, as each publishes them.

Platform	Currencies	How clients pay	Card payments	Best for
Stripe	Stripe says it supports presentment in 135+ currencies on Visa and Mastercard, and INR or USD on American Express.¹⁶	Foreign customers pay by card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), Apple Pay or Google Pay through a Stripe checkout, payment link, invoice or subscription. Cards must be issued outside India and the customer must give a non-Indian billing address. International card payments require 3D Secure authentication.¹⁰¹⁷¹	Yes, card payments are the core method: 3% (Visa or Mastercard issued abroad, INR presentment), 3.5% (American Express issued abroad), 4.3% (non-INR presentment), plus 2% if conversion is required. GST at 18% is charged on Stripe fees.⁵¹⁸	Card checkout and subscriptions¹²
Revolut	INR only for the India wallet. Revolut's India terms say PPIs can only be used for payments in Indian rupees.³⁷	Revolut India says money can be received into the INR account by UPI only; NEFT, IMPS and RTGS are not supported. No route for a foreign client to pay a Revolut India account from abroad is published.⁷³	Not available for receiving. Revolut India does not publish a way to accept card payments from clients.³⁷	Personal spending, not export receipts³⁴

What are the strengths and limitations of Stripe and Revolut?

Stripe and Revolut each suit some exporters better than others. These points come from each provider's own pages.

What are the strengths and limitations of Stripe?

Strengths:

You are a registered sole proprietorship, LLP or company and have been invited to Stripe India.¹²
Your foreign customers pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, for example on a website checkout or a subscription.¹⁰
You bill recurring international subscriptions or invoices and want Stripe Billing to collect them.¹
Each payment is within ₹25 lakh.¹⁶

Limitations:

Available by invite only in India; new businesses cannot sign up through the website.¹¹¹
Individuals (freelancers not registered as a business entity) cannot accept international payments.²¹⁰¹⁶
Only card and wallet payments from abroad are listed; no local bank account details for clients to pay by bank transfer are listed for India accounts.¹⁰
Payouts are in INR only; a foreign currency balance cannot be held or withdrawn.⁶¹
Only one transaction purpose code per Stripe account.¹
Stripe does not issue a FIRC; you take the Standard Chartered payment advice to your own bank.⁹
RBI lists Stripe India as a Payment Aggregator Online (PA-O), not a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PA-CB); its PA-CB application was withdrawn, per RBI's status list and Stripe's own support page.¹³¹⁴¹⁵
Stripe charges ₹1,000 per dispute received and ₹1,000 per dispute countered, each returned if you win, and the original processing and conversion fees are not returned on refunds.⁵

What are the strengths and limitations of Revolut?

Strengths:

You want a personal INR wallet and card for your own spending, separate from how you get paid for exports.³⁴

Limitations:

Revolut's India terms prohibit using a Revolut Account for business purposes.³
The India wallet holds INR only and receives money by UPI only, so a foreign client cannot pay into it from abroad by any published route.³⁷
Revolut Business is not available to companies registered in India.¹²
Revolut India is not an RBI-authorised PA-CB and its pages do not mention a FIRA, FIRC or purpose code.¹³³

Should you choose Stripe or Revolut?

Choose between Stripe and Revolut by how your clients pay and your usual invoice size.

Choose Stripe if:

You are a registered sole proprietorship, LLP or company and have been invited to Stripe India.¹²
Your foreign customers pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, for example on a website checkout or a subscription.¹⁰
You bill recurring international subscriptions or invoices and want Stripe Billing to collect them.¹
Each payment is within ₹25 lakh.¹⁶

Choose Revolut if:

You want a personal INR wallet and card for your own spending, separate from how you get paid for exports.³⁴

For example, say a designer invoices a US client USD 2,000. Because neither provider does not publish full pricing for that case, ask for a quote in writing and compare it with the FIRA rate after the first payment.⁵⁶³

Which other platforms should you consider besides Stripe and Revolut?

Other platforms to consider besides Stripe and Revolut are the ones with the lowest estimated cost on a USD 5,000 receipt, listed in that order.²⁰²¹²²²³²⁴²⁵²⁷²⁸³⁰³¹³³³⁵³⁶³⁷

Platform	Best for	Estimated cost on USD 5,000	FIRA	Review
Skydo	Local bank transfers from major markets¹⁹	0.68%²⁰²¹²²²³²⁴²⁵	Skydo says it issues a free FIRA on every payment received, and that its FIRA and FIRC are accepted for GST filing and by banks.²⁴²⁶	Skydo review
Karbon Business	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts²⁷	1.00 to 1.18%²⁷²⁸	Karbon says it provides a FIRA for every transaction, issued by its licensed banking partner, which it does not name. Cost not published.²⁷	Karbon Business review
Razorpay	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone²⁹	1.00 to 1.18%³⁰³¹	Razorpay provides a Foreign Inward Remittance Statement (FIRS), sent to the contact email within 24 hours after settlement for bank transfers, and downloadable from the dashboard, which shows bank-provided certificates and Razorpay-generated statements. The pricing page lists FIRC or eFIRC as included and auto-generated for international cards. No separate charge is published.²⁹³²³¹	Razorpay review
Winvesta	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee³³³⁴	1.24%³³³⁵³⁶³⁷	Free e-FIRA, emailed within 24 hours of funds reaching the Indian bank account and downloadable from the dashboard; it shows the purpose code and exchange rate.³⁶³⁵	Winvesta review

Compare every provider on your own invoice in the platform cost comparison.

How did we verify this?

We checked this page against the sources below on 28 October 2026. Provider fees, conversion markups and RBI payment aggregator (PA-CB) status were checked on 28 October 2026. Rupee amounts use European Central Bank reference rates for 13 November 2026. Read our methodology or report an error.

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper for Indian exporters, Stripe or Revolut?+

There is no cost verdict for a USD 5,000 bank transfer: neither publishes full pricing for this case.⁵⁶³ The answer can change with the currency, payment method and invoice size, so check your own numbers in the platform cost comparison.

Do Stripe and Revolut give a FIRA to Indian exporters?+

Stripe: Stripe does not issue a FIRC itself. Standard Chartered Bank emails a payment advice (payee advice) to the registered Stripe email on the day an export payout is processed; Stripe says to present it to your own bank to request a FIRC. Cost of the FIRC from your bank: not published by Stripe.⁹¹ Revolut: Not published. Revolut's India pages do not mention a FIRA or FIRC.

Can individual freelancers use Stripe and Revolut?+

Stripe: By invite only: Indian businesses cannot sign up through the website and must request an invite. International payments are open to sole proprietorships, LLPs and companies. Individuals can use Stripe India for domestic payments only. Non-profits, NGOs and simple partnerships are not supported.¹²¹⁰¹¹ Revolut: Individuals, for personal use. Revolut's India terms say you cannot use a Revolut Account for business purposes. Revolut Business requires a company registered in the UK, the EEA or the US; India is listed only as a country where an applicant for such a company may reside.³¹²

Are Stripe and Revolut authorised by the RBI?+

Stripe: RBI lists Stripe India Private Limited as an authorised Payment Aggregator Online (PA-O, 'Stripe', dated 15.01.2024), not as a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PA-CB). RBI's application status list as on 16.10.2026 shows its new PA-CB application returned on 12.07.2024 and marks it as withdrawn by the entity. Stripe says it withdrew the PA-CB application based on RBI guidance and continues cross-border services for Indian businesses on an invite-only basis. Stripe names Standard Chartered Bank as the bank that issues payment advice for export payouts.¹³¹⁴¹⁵¹⁹ Revolut: Revolut Payments India Private Limited is listed by the RBI as a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuer, authorised on 4 April 2025. It does not appear on the RBI list of authorised PA-CB entities as on 16 October 2026.¹³³

How fast do Stripe and Revolut pay out to an Indian bank?+

Stripe: Each daily payout includes international card payments processed five business days earlier. No payouts on weekends or public holidays. Seven-day waiting period for the first payout, which can be longer for high-risk industries.⁸ Revolut: Revolut says UPI transfers to the INR account are usually instant.⁷

Do I still need an LUT if I am paid through Stripe or Revolut?+

Yes, if you are registered under GST and want to invoice the export without IGST. The Letter of Undertaking is a GST filing for the financial year, and it does not depend on how the money reaches you, whether through Stripe, Revolut or a bank wire.³⁹

This page is general information for Indian service exporters, not tax or legal advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your facts, so confirm with a chartered accountant before acting.

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