
Stripe Alternative in India: Why Transact Bridge Leads the Pack for SaaS & AI Companies
Published on: Mon 14-Jul-2025 01:53 PM

As global SaaS and AI tool providers dream of tapping into India’s vast market, many turn to Stripe—only to hit a wall. Stripe is either unavailable or fails to meet India’s unique payment and compliance demands. Luckily, Transact Bridge fills this gap with a comprehensive Stripe alternative purpose-built for the Indian market. This post explores why it matters, how it works, and why Transact Bridge should be your go-to choice.
1. Why Stripe Is Not Enough for Indian Expansion
1.1 Stripe Doesn’t Fully Support India
Stripe doesn't onboard merchants or offer UPI support in India. Customers often have to pay with USD or foreign payment rails, leading to ineffective checkout flows, poor acceptance rates, and no INR pricing or GST-compliant invoicing.
1.2 Indian Users Prefer UPI
India’s Unified Payments Interface processes an astonishing 650 million transactions daily, accounting for around 84% of digital retail payments. That means any provider lacking UPI support is already limiting its reach and hurting conversions.
1.3 Increasing Rate of Declines
With less than 0.5% credit card usage in India, reliance on international card flows leads to checkout drop-offs exceeding 60%, especially when UPI isn’t offered.
2. What Indian Customers and Businesses Demand
2.1 Payment Methods That Work Locally
UPI (QR, AutoPay)
Domestic cards (RuPay)
Net banking and wallets (Paytm, PhonePe)
Fallback to international cards
2.2 Pricing & Tax Compliance
Pricing displayed in INR
GST-compliant invoicing—critical for B2B credibility and tax input credit
2.3 Full Regulatory Coverage
International businesses must address:
RBI/FEMA norms
GST registration and monthly filings
PCI-DSS compliance
Chargeback, fraud, and refund handling
3. Transact Bridge: The Superior Stripe Alternative
Transact Bridge is a Merchant of Record (MoR) designed for global businesses selling into India.
3.1 Key Features
Full Indian payment stack: UPI, RuPay, net banking, wallets.
INR pricing + GST invoices—automatically generated
Smart routing across IPG networks, powered by AI, delivering ~99.5% transaction clearance
Complete RBI/FEMA/GST compliance abstracted from customers
Support for recurring payments, including UPI AutoPay and card mandates
PCI-DSS & ISO‑27001 compliance, with local support and fraud prevention
4. Real-World Impact with Transact Bridge
4.1 Pain Points Resolved
Payment declines dropped 60%+ due to UPI fallback and smart routing
Recurring revenue stabilized, with churn decreasing up to 25% in some services, thanks to UPI AutoPay
Seamless onboarding, with most merchants starting in days—no local entity needed
4.2 Industry Examples
SaaS & AI platforms relying on monthly subscriptions benefited from reliable UPI and fungible invoicing
Gaming & digital entertainment platforms like OTT and ticketing saw frictionless top-ups via UPI and wallets
Global creators and digital product sellers can accept Indian flows while remaining fully compliant
5. Why Transact Bridge Beats Other Alternatives
5.1 Compared to Stripe / Paddle / LemonSqueezy
While those platforms excel globally, they lack Indian-specific infrastructure:
No UPI auto-failover
No GST invoicing
No Indian legal or compliance cover
Transact Bridge solves all of these, and acts as MoR/SOR/IOR in one platform.
Read in details:- 5 Alternatives to Paddle: Discover the Best Payment Solutions for Your Business
5.2 Compared to Razorpay or PayU
Gateways offer UPI and INR support, but require you to have an Indian entity, file taxes, and manage regulatory compliance yourself. Transact Bridge handles all that for you.
6. Integration & Adoption Roadmap
Step-by-Step
Book a demo → Set merchant onboarding in 1–2 weeks
Pick integration path: Hosted checkout, API, or widget
Configure INR pricing & GST invoicing
Add UPI, wallet, card checkout options
Launch & monitor: Use dashboard for reconciliation and compliance reports
Scale confidently, knowing all legal and tax obligations are met
Support includes provider onboarding, dispute resolution, AI-driven fraud flagging, and full tax/risk reporting.
7. FAQ
Q1: What is the best Stripe alternative in India?
A1: Transact Bridge, due to its full UPI, GST, regulatory, and MoR capabilities, unlike Stripe or other gate keepers.
Q2: Can international SaaS accept UPI without an Indian entity?
A2: Yes—Transact Bridge serves as your Merchant of Record, enabling full UPI compliance.
Q3: Does Transact Bridge support recurring payments?
A3: Yes, via UPI AutoPay, card mandates, and embeddable recurring flows.
Q4: How quickly can I start?
A4: Most businesses go live within 1–2 weeks, including KYC, integration, and testing.
8. Conclusion: Building for India’s Future
For SaaS, AI, gaming, and digital product companies, India is a growth frontier—but only if you can accept payment locally. Stripe and similar platforms don’t cut it anymore.
Transact Bridge provides:
UPI-first checkout with gravity
INR pricing and GST invoicing
Full RBI/FEMA tax & compliance cover
Instant integration and local support
Use Transact Bridge as your Stripe alternative to unlock conversions, compliance, and expansion into India’s booming market.
Ready to integrate UPI, GST, and compliant Indian payments in days—without entity setup?
Book a demo with Transact Bridge now.