How to Accept US Card Payments in India
The US Card Shift in 2025
If you're an Indian exporter or freelancer working with U.S. clients, get ready for a change: cards are becoming a preferred way for businesses to pay. We often think of credit and debit cards as consumer payment tools, but businesses use them too. In fact, about 8 out of 10 small businesses in the US use at least one business credit card to manage payments. Why are cards on the rise for B2B? Because they offer speed, rewards, and simpler internal approvals for the payer. This trend impacts you directly – your next invoice could be paid via a card.
In this blog, we’ll dive into why U.S. clients prefer card payments, what that means for your cash flow and compliance as an Indian exporter, and how you can adapt. We’ll also cover how Skydo can help you accept U.S.-issued Visa/Mastercard payments through InstaLinks, as well as ACH payments through virtual accounts, with funds delivered in less than 48 hours.
Why US Clients Prefer Cards
Your U.S. clients might insist on paying by card for several practical reasons. Understanding their perspective can help you cater to their needs better. Here are the top reasons U.S. businesses favour card payments:
- Rewards & Cashback Keep Budgets Attractive: Cards are the only payment option that earn rewards or cashback for the company. Businesses use these perks to offset spending and make their budgets look better. Many U.S. business credit cards tailor rewards to common expenses like software, advertising, and travel. For example, the Brex Corporate Card offers up to 8× points on rideshare, 5× on travel, 4× on dining, 3× on recurring software, and 1× on all other spends. Another card, the TD Business Solutions Credit Card, offers 2% cashback on all purchases, with no complicated categories to track. These incentives encourage companies to put as much spend as possible on cards.
- Easier Approvals (No Payee Setup Headaches): Traditional bank payments (like a wire transfer) require the finance team to add new payees and go through an approval process. The first time a U.S. client pays you via bank transfer, their team might take 24–48 hours just to get your account approved in their system. By contrast, if they use a business credit card, the team likely already has authority to spend on that card. They don’t need to set you up in banking systems from scratch – they simply enter the card details and click “Pay.” Fewer hoops to jump through means a quicker start to our business relationship.
- Speed: Cards Clear Faster Than Wires: International wire transfers are routed through intermediary banks and the SWIFT network, with multiple checkpoints. It can take 3–5 business days for a wire payment from the US to reach your Indian bank account. Card payments, however, are authorised within seconds, while settlements do take longer.
- Trust Factor (Cards Fit Into Default US Workflows): Beyond rewards and speed, card payments integrate seamlessly into U.S. companies’ existing systems. Many American businesses automatically sync their card transactions with accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero. The card spend data flows into their books without extra manual work, keeping records accurate. Because of this convenience, cards have become the default for many business payments in the US. By accepting card payments, you align with your client's natural payment workflow instead of asking them to use a different, less familiar method. This builds trust and reduces friction.
What This Means for Indian Exporters and Freelancers
Cards sound great for your client, but how do they affect you as the person receiving the payment in India? Here are the key implications:
Convenient First Payments (A Sweet Spot to Get Started)
Card payments shine for first-time invoices and smaller amounts. When you’re kicking off a new client relationship or handling an urgent project, cards help avoid delays. As mentioned, a new wire transfer setup can slow down an initial payment. With cards, your client can pay immediately without bureaucratic hurdles. For smaller invoice values, many clients are even willing to absorb the card processing fee for the sake of speed and convenience.
Reduced DSO (Less Waiting and Fewer Failed Payments)
DSO stands for Days Sales Outstanding – essentially, how long it takes to collect payment after you issue an invoice. Lower DSO is better for your cash flow. Using cards can reduce your DSO because traditional methods like wire transfers are slower and often come with hiccups. In fact, international wires sometimes fail or get delayed due to errors or compliance checks. According to SWIFT, roughly 10% of international payments get held up along the way for compliance reviews.
When a wire fails, you might only find out after 3–5 days (when the money bounces back to the sender), putting you back at square one. Card payments can also fail or be declined, but the big advantage is that you know the result instantly. If a client's card is declined (due to insufficient limit, an expired card, suspected fraud, etc.), they can resolve it or use another payment method right away, rather than you both waiting in limbo. The immediacy of card authorisation means fewer payments are stuck in processing. Overall, this translates to quicker resolution of payment issues and a lower chance of invoices getting “stuck” for days or weeks.
Higher Completion Rate (Fewer "Stuck" Invoices)
A "stuck invoice" is a payment that gets trapped in processing due to additional approvals needed, missing paperwork, or technical glitches. With wire transfers, an invoice can get stuck if, say, the client’s bank needs extra compliance documents or if there was a typo in your bank details (like a SWIFT code). Such issues can hold up a payment for many days while everyone scrambles to fix the problem. Card payments, on the other hand, tend to be binary – they either go through or they don’t. When a client attempts a card payment, you get one of three immediate outcomes: approved, declined, or requires verification. If it’s approved, great – you're getting paid. If it’s declined or needs additional verification, you know right away and can ask the client to investigate or use an alternate method. There’s much less chance of a payment disappearing into a “processing black hole.” This higher completion rate means you spend less time chasing down payments that are stuck in limbo.
Compliance Impact (FIRA/eBRC Requirements Still Apply)
One important thing to remember: even if you receive money via a card payment or ACH, from the government and banking regulatory perspective in India it’s still a foreign inward remittance. Accepting card payments doesn’t exempt you from the usual export documentation. You will still need a Foreign Inward Remittance Advice (FIRA), as proof that foreign currency funds arrived in your Indian bank account. If you’re exporting goods or certain services, you also need an Electronic Bank Realisation Certificate (eBRC) mapped to that payment to satisfy RBI and FEMA regulations. In short, card or no card, the paperwork remains. The good news is that some modern payment platforms (like Skydo) automatically generate the necessary FIRA for you on each payment, which saves you the headache of chasing the bank for it. Just be mindful that you must account for every dollar coming in and tie it back to an export invoice for compliance purposes, the same way you would with a wire transfer.
How Indian Exporters Can Adapt in 2025
Card payments are becoming a default choice for U.S. companies, and they can help you get paid quickly. To make the most of this trend (and to avoid potential pitfalls), you’ll want to adapt your processes. Here are several strategies to smoothly accommodate both card and ACH payments from U.S. clients:
Offer Both Options by Default
Don’t force your client into a single payment method. On every invoice, present card and bank transfer as standard payment options. This way, the client immediately sees they have a choice. They’ll appreciate the flexibility to pay how they prefer. Often, just knowing that you can accept a card can make a client more comfortable – it signals that you’re easy to do business with.
Segment by Use Case
Not all payments are equal. It can be smart to steer clients toward one method or another based on the situation:
- First or Urgent Invoices → Favour Card: For a new client’s first payment or any urgent project, encourage card payment. This avoids the initial setup delays of wire/ACH and gets you paid faster when timing matters most. Clients are often okay using a card for a quick turnaround project, even if it carries a higher fee, because speed is the priority.
- Recurring Retainers → Net Banking: For ongoing monthly retainer payments or large recurring invoices, ACH is usually better. With Skydo, you can either share your US virtual bank account details with your client, and they can make an ACH credit, which will then be converted at the live forex rate and deposited into your bank account. Or you can also send a payment link, and your clients can choose to pay you by net banking.
- Larger Deals → ACH or Wire Transfers: For high-value deals, the fees on a card payment become hefty. If you have a choice, suggest ACH or even a direct wire transfer for large invoices to minimise the percentage lost to processing fees. Many clients will agree, since it saves them money. Some larger companies might even mandate wire for big amounts due to internal policies. Go with the flow here – the goal is to get the payment through with minimal friction and cost.
By segmenting payments this way, you optimise for both speed and cost-efficiency depending on the scenario.
Adjust Your Pricing Model Strategically
When you start accepting multiple payment methods, you’ll face the question of how to handle the different fees. How do you charge clients in a way that’s fair and also nudges them toward the most efficient option? Here are a few pricing approaches you can consider:
- Blended Pricing (Same Price Across Methods): This means you charge the same rate regardless of payment method. You essentially “blend in” the cost of fees into your pricing structure. The upside is simplicity – clients choose their payment method based on convenience, not a price difference, and you don’t have to constantly tweak pricing for each client or invoice. It’s easy to communicate, and you can focus on your service rather than the payment details. The downside is that you might be subtly paying for the card fees out of your margin on those transactions, but you can factor an average cost into your rates. Blended pricing works well if your invoices are typically similar sizes and the convenience is worth the occasional fee hit.
- ACH Discount (Reward Clients for Cost-Saving Choice): Instead of framing it as an extra fee for card payments (which clients might dislike), frame it positively as a discount for paying via ACH. For example, you could say on a $5,000 invoice: “Standard price $5,000 – or save $125 with ACH!” This way, the price for card is the default, and ACH is presented as a small savings. Budget-conscious clients will take the ACH option to save money, and you effectively avoid the card fee by passing the savings to them. It’s a gentler way to incentivise the cheaper payment method without sounding punitive.
- Selective Fee Waiver (Absorb Card Costs for Strategic Reasons): In some cases, it might be worth absorbing the card processing fee yourself to win or retain business. You don’t have to do this for everyone, but consider waiving the fee for strategic situations – for instance, a first-time client (to reduce friction in onboarding), a rush project where timing is critical, or a high-profile client you’re keen to impress. You can bake that cost into your overall pricing if needed. The idea is that you are selectively giving a free pass on the card fee when it helps you secure a deal or build a long-term relationship. For routine, ongoing work, you can still encourage ACH or have the client bear the card fee. This approach lets you stay competitive on big or urgent opportunities while protecting your margins on standard projects.
No matter which model you choose, communicate clearly with your client. If you’re offering an ACH discount or charging extra for card, mention it upfront in the quote or invoice. Transparency builds trust, and many clients will understand that different methods have different costs.
Skydo’s Card + Net Banking Solution for Indian Exporters
When you work with U.S. clients, you don’t want to lock them into just one way of paying. That’s why Skydo supports both ACH transfers (via virtual accounts) and InstaLinks (card + ACH debit) — so you can cover every client scenario without extra setup.
ACH Credit via Virtual USD Accounts (Bank Transfer)
Skydo issues you a virtual U.S. bank account with unique account and routing numbers. Your client simply makes an ACH Credit (push payment) from their U.S. bank as if they were paying any domestic vendor.
- Best for: Monthly retainers, predictable payments, cost-conscious finance teams
- Timeline: Funds typically reach your Indian account in ≤48 hours once established
- Pricing: Flat fee (e.g., $19 for payments up to $1,000) with conversion at the live mid-market FX rate (no markup)
- Compliance: Each payment comes with an auto-generated FIRA, mapped directly to your invoice
InstaLinks (Card + ACH Debit)
For first-time clients, urgent projects, or those who prefer flexibility, Skydo provides InstaLinks — a secure payment link that lets your client choose between paying by card (Visa/Mastercard) or ACH debit (pull from their account).
- Best for: First invoices, trial projects, urgent deals, client's preference for card payments
- Timeline: Authorisation is instant; settlement to INR takes up to 6 business days for card and ACH debit
- Pricing: 5% and 2% of the transaction value for cards and net banking, respectively, with conversion at the live mid-market FX rate (no markup)
- Compliance: FIRA is auto-generated, and payments are reconciled against your invoices automatically
Now, go ahead and embrace the card payment trend – and happy earning!
How can Indian exporters accept US card payments?
Exporters can accept US card payments using platforms like Skydo InstaLink, which lets clients pay via Visa/Mastercard. Payments settle in INR within up to 6 business days at live forex rates, with automatic FIRA for compliance.
Can freelancers in India receive debit card payments from the US?
Why do US businesses prefer paying by card?
Do card payments meet RBI compliance rules for exporters?
