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Wise vs Adyen (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 Wise nor Adyen 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: Wise is best for bank transfers to local account details, and Adyen is best for large businesses with an Indian entity.¹²³

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.
Wise is best for	Wise	Bank transfers to local account details.¹
Adyen is best for	Adyen	Large businesses with an Indian entity.²³

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 Wise and Adyen compare at a glance?

Wise and Adyen 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.¹⁴⁵³⁴

	Wise	Adyen
Best for	Bank transfers to local account details¹	Large businesses with an Indian entity²³
Fees	Wise's India help article says it charges an equivalent of 2 USD in the received currency for the transfer to the INR bank account that issues the e-FIRC. Wise's India receive pricing page describes a free eFIRC for every transfer. The general Wise Business fee table on Wise's India site lists 6.11 USD per USD wire or Swift payment, 2.16 GBP per GBP Swift payment and 2.39 EUR per EUR Swift payment, with domestic (non-Swift, non-wire) payments free; Wise's India-specific receive pages do not repeat these Swift fees. 18% GST applies to Wise fees.¹⁴⁵	Not published for Indian exporters. Adyen's global pricing page shows indicative fees: $0.13 per transaction plus Interchange++ plus 0.60% for Visa and Mastercard, and $0.13 plus 3.95% for American Express.
FX markup	Mid-market exchange rate plus a conversion fee that Wise says depends on the currency. No percentage is published for conversion to INR; the amount is shown in Wise's calculator.⁴⁶	Not published.
Settlement	Wise says the INR payment reaches the Indian bank account within 1 to 2 days and that more than 50% of transfers settle within 2 hours of pay-in. The client's payment takes 0 to 3 working days to reach Wise by local methods and 2 to 6 working days by SWIFT.¹	Not published.
FIRA	An e-FIRC for each transfer, emailed to the registered address within 3 working days and downloadable from the transfer page. The help article links it to the 2 USD equivalent fee; the pricing page calls it free.¹⁴	Not published.
Currencies	24 currencies: local account details in 11 currencies and international account details in 13 more, from 140+ countries, according to Wise.¹	Not published for Indian exporters.
KYC: who can sign up	Wise Business only: sole traders or freelancers (personal PAN and an INR bank account in their own name), sole proprietorships, private limited companies, LLPs and general partnerships. Other business types are not currently onboarded. Wise personal accounts in India cannot receive money.⁷⁸	Adyen describes itself as a platform for enterprises. To process payments locally in India, Adyen requires a local entity in India and a separate company account. Eligibility of Indian freelancers or small exporters is not published.⁹³
RBI PA-CB status	RBI's list of authorised payment aggregators dated 16 October 2026 includes Wise Payments India Private Limited as a Payment Aggregator, Cross Border, facilitating inward transactions (PA-CB-I), authorised on 12 March 2026. Wise's India receiving pages do not name the Wise entity that handles inward payments.¹⁰¹	The RBI lists Adyen India Technology Services Private Limited as an online payment aggregator (PA-O, 15 July 2024) and as PA-CB-O, a cross-border payment aggregator facilitating outward transactions. Adyen's India onboarding policy describes its cross-border product as the Payment Aggregator Cross Border Import solution for foreign merchants. Adyen is not listed for inward (export) cross-border transactions.¹¹⁹¹²
Support	Not published on the India receiving pages checked.	Not published for this use; Adyen's pricing page directs custom pricing and minimum invoice questions to its sales team.
Limits	Minimum 5 USD or equivalent and maximum 2.5 million INR (₹25 lakh) or equivalent per transaction; payments outside these limits are returned to the sender. RBI caps each PA-CB inward or outward transaction at ₹25 lakh.¹¹³	For its cross-border import product, Adyen restricts foreign merchants from selling goods or services priced above ₹25,00,000 per transaction. No limit is published for Indian exporters.¹²
How clients pay	The client pays to the business's Wise account details from their own bank (local transfer, wire or SWIFT) or from a Wise account.¹⁶	Not published for Indian exporters. For local processing in India Adyen lists cards (Visa, Mastercard, RuPay), UPI, online banking and wallets.
Card payments	Not available for India-based businesses: Wise lists card acceptance only for Wise Business accounts in the EEA, UK, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Canada and the US.¹⁴	Not published for foreign customers paying Indian businesses. Adyen's India compliance guide says its India rules apply to local acquiring and do not apply to cross-border payments.

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

The INR you receive with Wise and Adyen 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: Wise.

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 Wise and who is it for?

Wise is a money transfer company whose Wise Business account gives Indian businesses and freelancers account details in other currencies, converts what they receive to INR and sends it to their Indian bank account.¹⁶

Regulated by: RBI's list of authorised payment aggregators dated 16 October 2026 includes Wise Payments India Private Limited as a Payment Aggregator, Cross Border, facilitating inward transactions (PA-CB-I), authorised on 12 March 2026. Wise's India receiving pages do not name the Wise entity that handles inward payments.¹⁰¹
Used by: Wise Business only: sole traders or freelancers (personal PAN and an INR bank account in their own name), sole proprietorships, private limited companies, LLPs and general partnerships. Other business types are not currently onboarded. Wise personal accounts in India cannot receive money.⁷⁸
Best for: Bank transfers to local account details.¹

What is Adyen and who is it for?

Adyen is a payments platform for enterprises; in India it is authorised by the RBI as an online payment aggregator and as a cross-border aggregator for outward (import) transactions, and it publishes no product for Indian exporters collecting from foreign customers.⁹¹¹¹²

Regulated by: The RBI lists Adyen India Technology Services Private Limited as an online payment aggregator (PA-O, 15 July 2024) and as PA-CB-O, a cross-border payment aggregator facilitating outward transactions. Adyen's India onboarding policy describes its cross-border product as the Payment Aggregator Cross Border Import solution for foreign merchants. Adyen is not listed for inward (export) cross-border transactions.¹¹⁹¹²
Used by: Adyen describes itself as a platform for enterprises. To process payments locally in India, Adyen requires a local entity in India and a separate company account. Eligibility of Indian freelancers or small exporters is not published.⁹³
Best for: Large businesses with an Indian entity.²³

How do Wise and Adyen fees and FX markup compare?

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

What does Wise charge?

Transaction type	Fee	FX markup	GST on fees	Best for
Local (domestic, non-Swift, non-wire) transfer to Wise local account details	USD 2⁴¹⁵	Not published	18%	Clients paying by local bank transfer
Wire or Swift payment to Wise account details	USD 2 + plus a fixed fee by currency⁴¹⁵	Not published	18%	Clients paying by international wire

What does Adyen charge?

Fees: Not published for Indian exporters. Adyen's global pricing page shows indicative fees: $0.13 per transaction plus Interchange++ plus 0.60% for Visa and Mastercard, and $0.13 plus 3.95% for American Express.³⁴

How do Wise and Adyen compare on settlement speed?

Wise and Adyen publish these settlement times for money reaching an Indian bank account.

Platform	Settlement time	Payout to India	Best for
Wise	Wise says the INR payment reaches the Indian bank account within 1 to 2 days and that more than 50% of transfers settle within 2 hours of pay-in. The client's payment takes 0 to 3 working days to reach Wise by local methods and 2 to 6 working days by SWIFT.¹	Automatic: Wise converts each payment to INR and sends it to the verified Indian bank account given during verification. Indian users cannot hold the foreign currency, and the account details cannot be used to send money. No separate withdrawal fee is published beyond the e-FIRC transfer fee.¹	Bank transfers to local account details¹
Adyen	Not published.	Not published.	Large businesses with an Indian entity²³

Do Wise and Adyen provide FIRA and e-BRC, and are they RBI PA-CB authorised?

Wise and Adyen 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.³⁵

Platform	FIRA	RBI PA-CB status	Best for
Wise	An e-FIRC for each transfer, emailed to the registered address within 3 working days and downloadable from the transfer page. The help article links it to the 2 USD equivalent fee; the pricing page calls it free.¹⁴	RBI's list of authorised payment aggregators dated 16 October 2026 includes Wise Payments India Private Limited as a Payment Aggregator, Cross Border, facilitating inward transactions (PA-CB-I), authorised on 12 March 2026. Wise's India receiving pages do not name the Wise entity that handles inward payments.¹⁰¹	Bank transfers to local account details¹
Adyen	Not published.	The RBI lists Adyen India Technology Services Private Limited as an online payment aggregator (PA-O, 15 July 2024) and as PA-CB-O, a cross-border payment aggregator facilitating outward transactions. Adyen's India onboarding policy describes its cross-border product as the Payment Aggregator Cross Border Import solution for foreign merchants. Adyen is not listed for inward (export) cross-border transactions.¹¹⁹¹²	Large businesses with an Indian entity²³

Which currencies, countries and payment methods do Wise and Adyen support?

Wise and Adyen accept the currencies and payment methods below, as each publishes them.

Platform	Currencies	How clients pay	Card payments	Best for
Wise	24 currencies: local account details in 11 currencies and international account details in 13 more, from 140+ countries, according to Wise.¹	The client pays to the business's Wise account details from their own bank (local transfer, wire or SWIFT) or from a Wise account.¹⁶	Not available for India-based businesses: Wise lists card acceptance only for Wise Business accounts in the EEA, UK, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Canada and the US.¹⁴	Bank transfers to local account details¹
Adyen	Not published for Indian exporters.	Not published for Indian exporters. For local processing in India Adyen lists cards (Visa, Mastercard, RuPay), UPI, online banking and wallets.	Not published for foreign customers paying Indian businesses. Adyen's India compliance guide says its India rules apply to local acquiring and do not apply to cross-border payments.	Large businesses with an Indian entity²³

What are the strengths and limitations of Wise and Adyen?

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

What are the strengths and limitations of Wise?

Strengths:

Your clients are willing to pay by bank transfer to local account details in USD, GBP, EUR or another supported currency.¹
You want an e-FIRC issued for each payment received.¹
You are a freelancer without a registered business, since Wise Business accepts sole traders verified with a personal PAN.⁷
Individual payments are between 5 USD and ₹25 lakh equivalent.¹

Limitations:

Indian businesses cannot accept card payments through Wise.¹⁴
Money cannot be held in foreign currency; every receipt is converted to INR.¹
No conversion fee percentage is published for INR, so the cost of a receipt can only be seen in Wise's calculator.⁴
Single payments above ₹25 lakh equivalent are returned to the sender.¹
Wise's own pages differ on whether the e-FIRC is free or covered by a 2 USD equivalent fee.¹⁴
Business types other than sole traders, sole proprietorships, private limited companies, LLPs and general partnerships are not currently onboarded.⁷

What are the strengths and limitations of Adyen?

Strengths:

You are a large business with an Indian entity that needs domestic card, UPI and online banking acceptance in India on one platform.²³
You are a foreign merchant selling to Indian buyers through Adyen's cross-border import product.¹²

Limitations:

Adyen's RBI cross-border authorisation is for outward (import) transactions, not inward export receipts.¹¹¹²
Adyen publishes no product, fee, FIRA or purpose code process for Indian service exporters collecting from foreign customers.⁹³⁴³
Pricing shown is global and indicative, and a minimum invoice may apply depending on industry or business model.³⁴
Adyen positions itself for enterprises; eligibility for freelancers or small agencies is not published.⁹

Should you choose Wise or Adyen?

Choose between Wise and Adyen by how your clients pay and your usual invoice size.

Choose Wise if:

Your clients are willing to pay by bank transfer to local account details in USD, GBP, EUR or another supported currency.¹
You want an e-FIRC issued for each payment received.¹
You are a freelancer without a registered business, since Wise Business accepts sole traders verified with a personal PAN.⁷
Individual payments are between 5 USD and ₹25 lakh equivalent.¹

Choose Adyen if:

You are a large business with an Indian entity that needs domestic card, UPI and online banking acceptance in India on one platform.²³
You are a foreign merchant selling to Indian buyers through Adyen's cross-border import product.¹²

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.⁴⁶³⁴

Which other platforms should you consider besides Wise and Adyen?

Other platforms to consider besides Wise and Adyen are the ones with the lowest estimated cost on a USD 5,000 receipt, listed in that order.¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹²⁰²¹²³²⁴²⁶²⁷²⁹³¹³²³³

Platform	Best for	Estimated cost on USD 5,000	FIRA	Review
Skydo	Local bank transfers from major markets¹⁵	0.68%¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹²⁰²¹	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.²⁰²²	Skydo review
Karbon Business	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts²³	1.00 to 1.18%²³²⁴	Karbon says it provides a FIRA for every transaction, issued by its licensed banking partner, which it does not name. Cost not published.²³	Karbon Business review
Razorpay	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone²⁵	1.00 to 1.18%²⁶²⁷	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.²⁵²⁸²⁷	Razorpay review
Winvesta	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee²⁹³⁰	1.24%²⁹³¹³²³³	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.³²³¹	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, Wise or Adyen?+

There is no cost verdict for a USD 5,000 bank transfer: neither publishes full pricing for this case.⁴⁶³⁴ The answer can change with the currency, payment method and invoice size, so check your own numbers in the platform cost comparison.

Do Wise and Adyen give a FIRA to Indian exporters?+

Wise: An e-FIRC for each transfer, emailed to the registered address within 3 working days and downloadable from the transfer page. The help article links it to the 2 USD equivalent fee; the pricing page calls it free.¹⁴ Adyen: Not published.

Can individual freelancers use Wise and Adyen?+

Wise: Wise Business only: sole traders or freelancers (personal PAN and an INR bank account in their own name), sole proprietorships, private limited companies, LLPs and general partnerships. Other business types are not currently onboarded. Wise personal accounts in India cannot receive money.⁷⁸ Adyen: Adyen describes itself as a platform for enterprises. To process payments locally in India, Adyen requires a local entity in India and a separate company account. Eligibility of Indian freelancers or small exporters is not published.⁹³

Are Wise and Adyen authorised by the RBI?+

Wise: RBI's list of authorised payment aggregators dated 16 October 2026 includes Wise Payments India Private Limited as a Payment Aggregator, Cross Border, facilitating inward transactions (PA-CB-I), authorised on 12 March 2026. Wise's India receiving pages do not name the Wise entity that handles inward payments.¹⁰¹ Adyen: The RBI lists Adyen India Technology Services Private Limited as an online payment aggregator (PA-O, 15 July 2024) and as PA-CB-O, a cross-border payment aggregator facilitating outward transactions. Adyen's India onboarding policy describes its cross-border product as the Payment Aggregator Cross Border Import solution for foreign merchants. Adyen is not listed for inward (export) cross-border transactions.¹¹⁹¹²

How fast do Wise and Adyen pay out to an Indian bank?+

Wise: Wise says the INR payment reaches the Indian bank account within 1 to 2 days and that more than 50% of transfers settle within 2 hours of pay-in. The client's payment takes 0 to 3 working days to reach Wise by local methods and 2 to 6 working days by SWIFT.¹ Adyen: Not published.³⁴

Do I still need an LUT if I am paid through Wise or Adyen?+

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 Wise, Adyen or a bank wire.³⁶

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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