Cashfree

What is Cashfree Payments

Cashfree Payments is a complete payments and API banking platform designed for businesses in India. Its main purpose is to help companies collect payments from customers, send money (payouts) to vendors and employees, and manage international transactions. The platform was founded by Akash Sinha and Reeju Datta and is headquartered in Bangalore, India. It provides a single platform for various financial operations, including payment processing, bulk disbursals, and identity verification. Cashfree Payments is supported by major investors like SBI and Y Combinator and was incubated by PayPal, serving over 800,000 businesses across the country.

Cashfree Payments Features

• Payment Gateway: Allows businesses to accept payments through more than 180 payment modes, including credit/debit cards, Net Banking, UPI, wallets, EMI, and Buy Now Pay Later options.
• Payouts: Enables businesses to send money instantly, 24x7, to any bank account, UPI ID, card, or wallet. This is useful for vendor payments, salary disbursals, and customer refunds.
• International Payments: Supports collection of payments from customers worldwide in over 140 currencies, simplifying global business operations.
• Payment Links & Forms: Businesses can create and share payment links or forms via SMS, email, or WhatsApp to collect payments without needing a complex website integration.
• Identity Verification: Provides APIs to verify customer identity using methods like bank account verification, PAN, and Aadhaar, which helps in preventing fraud and staying compliant.
• Custom Checkout Experience: Offers tools to build a customized checkout page that can increase conversion rates with features like saved addresses, discount options, and intelligent routing across multiple payment gateways.
• RTO Reduction: Includes features to reduce Return to Origin (RTO) losses for e-commerce businesses by using smart logic to offer or hide the Cash on Delivery (COD) option.
• Platform Integrations: Offers ready-to-use plugins for major e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento, making integration simple for online stores.

Cashfree Payments Pricing Plans

Cashfree Payments primarily operates on a transaction-based pricing model. There are generally two types of plans available:

• Standard Plan: This plan is suitable for startups and small to medium-sized businesses. It typically has no setup fees or annual maintenance charges. Pricing is a fixed percentage plus a flat fee on each successful transaction. The rates vary depending on the payment mode used (e.g., UPI, credit cards, net banking).

• Enterprise Plan: This plan is designed for large businesses with high transaction volumes. It offers custom pricing, a dedicated account manager, and access to premium features and support. Businesses need to contact the sales team to get a tailored quote based on their specific requirements.

Cashfree Payments Free Plan

Cashfree Payments does not have a 'free plan' in the sense of processing transactions for free. However, it offers a free-to-start model. There are no charges for signing up, account setup, or annual maintenance on the standard plan. You only pay when you have a successful transaction. They also provide a free 'Test Environment' (sandbox) where developers can integrate and test the platform's features using test API credentials without any cost before going live with real payments.

How to use Cashfree Payments

Getting started with Cashfree Payments is a straightforward process:

1. Create an Account: Go to the Cashfree Payments website and sign up for an account.
2. Submit Documents: Complete the online onboarding process by providing your business details and uploading scanned copies of necessary documents, such as your business registration certificate and PAN card.
3. Account Verification: The Cashfree Payments team will review your documents. This verification process usually takes about 24 working hours.
4. Integration: While your account is being verified, you can use the test environment to integrate the payment gateway with your website or application. You can use their plugins for platforms like Shopify or use their developer APIs and SDKs for a custom integration.
5. Go Live: Once your account is activated, you will receive a confirmation email. You can then switch from the test environment to the production environment using your live API keys and start accepting real payments from customers.

Pros and Cons of Cashfree Payments

Pros:

• Wide Range of Payment Options: Supports over 180 payment modes, giving customers great flexibility.
• Instant Payouts: The Payouts feature allows for 24x7 instant money transfers, which is a big advantage over traditional banking methods.
• Developer-Friendly: Offers well-documented APIs, SDKs, and a developer sandbox for easy integration.
• Fast Onboarding: The entire onboarding process is digital and quick, allowing businesses to start accepting payments fast.
• Value-Added Features: Provides tools for RTO reduction, abandoned cart recovery, and international payments.

Cons:

• India-Centric: The platform is heavily focused on the Indian market, which may not be ideal for businesses with primary operations outside India.
• Customer Support: Like many large platforms, the customer support experience can sometimes be slow for users on the standard plan.
• Transaction Fees: For very small businesses or micro-transactions, the per-transaction fee can add up.

Cashfree Payments integrations

Cashfree Payments offers a variety of integrations to connect with popular platforms and tools. This makes it easy for businesses to incorporate payment processing into their existing workflows.

• Shopify Integration: Allows Shopify store owners to easily add Cashfree Payments as a payment option at checkout.
• WooCommerce Integration: A dedicated plugin for WordPress websites using WooCommerce to accept payments.
• Magento Integration: Provides an extension for Magento-based e-commerce sites.
• OpenCart Integration: Offers a plugin for stores built on the OpenCart platform.
• PrestaShop Integration: A module is available for businesses using PrestaShop.
• PayPal Integration: Businesses can connect their PayPal account to offer it as a payment option on the Cashfree checkout page.

Cashfree Payments Alternatives

• Razorpay: A direct competitor in India offering a similar suite of products, including a payment gateway, payouts, and business banking services. Razorpay is known for its modern interface and strong focus on startups.
• Paytm Payment Gateway: A popular choice in India, leveraging the large user base of the Paytm wallet. It offers a comprehensive range of payment options and is a well-recognized brand.
• Stripe: A global payment processing leader with a strong presence in India. Stripe is highly regarded for its excellent developer tools, clean APIs, and powerful features for international businesses.
• PayU: An established payment gateway in India that serves a wide range of businesses. It is known for its reliability and high transaction success rates.

Cashfree Payments API

Yes, Cashfree Payments provides a comprehensive set of RESTful APIs for developers to integrate payment functionalities directly into their applications and websites. The detailed API documentation is available on their official website for developers.

To get your API keys, you need to sign up for a Cashfree Payments account. Once your account is created, you can find your App ID and Secret Key for both the Test and Production environments in your merchant dashboard. The Test keys allow you to build and test your integration without moving real money.

Here is a sample cURL code to create an order using the Cashfree Payments API:

curl -X POST \
https://api.cashfree.com/pg/orders \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H 'x-api-version: 2022-09-01' \
-H 'x-client-id: YOUR_APP_ID' \
-H 'x-client-secret: YOUR_SECRET_KEY' \
-d '{
    "order_id": "order_1675668834",
    "order_amount": 1.00,
    "order_currency": "INR",
    "customer_details": {
        "customer_id": "customer_123",
        "customer_email": "customer@example.com",
        "customer_phone": "9999999999"
    },
    "order_meta": {
        "return_url": "https://your-return-url.com/{order_id}"
    }
}'

Cashfree Payments Affiliate Program

There is no publicly advertised affiliate program for Cashfree Payments at this time. However, they have a "Partner with us" program for businesses that wish to collaborate. This can include technology partners, resellers, or platform integrations. If you are interested in becoming a partner or an influencer, it is best to contact their business development or sales team directly through the contact options on their website to discuss potential partnership opportunities.