Selection Rule: Still active online payment systems, globally recognised and working.
| Year | Online Payment System | What It’s Known For |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | PayPal | Pioneer of global digital payments, now supports 200+ markets. Wikipedia+2PayPal+2 |
| 1999 | Neteller | Early cross-border e-money service. |
| 2001 | Skrill | Widely used in gaming, forex, and international transfers. |
| 2002 | PayU | Operating across 50+ emerging markets. |
| 2003 | Mercado Pago | Latin America’s largest fintech payment platform. |
| 2004 | Alipay | China’s biggest super-app wallet; worldwide ambition. Wikipedia+1 |
| 2005 | Klarna | Swedish BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) pioneer. Wikipedia+1 |
| 2006 | Adyen | End-to-end enterprise payments for global brands. |
| 2007 | Braintree | Developer-friendly gateway (acquired by PayPal in 2013). Wikipedia |
| 2009 | Square (Block) | Turned smartphones into POS machines. |
| 2010 | Stripe | API-first payments platform powering SaaS, startups, marketplaces. |
| 2013 | WeChat Pay | Embedded payments inside a social-messaging super-app. |
| 2014 | Apple Pay | Tokenised NFC payments with high security adoption. |
✅ All 13 above are still live and in operation globally.
you may also like to read: Why Every MSME Should Accept Online Payments — And How It Drives Real Growth in 2025
🇮🇳 Top Online Payment Systems in India (Still Operating, Oldest → Newest)
| Year | Online Payment System | Role in India’s Digital Payments |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | BillDesk | One of India’s earliest payment gateways, still active. |
| 2001 | CCAvenue | Gateway trusted by lakhs of merchants & MSMEs. |
| 2010 | IMPS | Bank-to-bank real-time rail, 24×7. |
| 2010 | Paytm | One of India’s biggest QR + wallet + merchant ecosystems. |
| 2012 | RuPay | India’s domestic card scheme; expanding to Credit on UPI. |
| 2014 | AePS | Aadhaar Enabled Payment System for rural cash-in/out & micro-ATMs. |
| 2014 | Razorpay | Full-stack MSME-first payment gateway and stack. |
| 2016 | UPI | Instant account-to-account interoperability; backbone of P2P and P2M. NPCI+1 |
| 2016 | BHIM | Government-backed UPI app for mass adoption. Wikipedia |
| 2016 | PhonePe | One of India’s largest UPI + QR + merchant networks. |
| 2017 | Google Pay | Major UPI-based player in India (rebranded from Tez). |
| 2018 | BBPS | Bharat Bill Payment System – unified bill-payments platform. |
| 2022 | Credit on UPI | New acceptance category: Credit card / BNPL via UPI QR. |
✅ These Indian systems listed are active and relevant for MSME/business usage here and now.
🔎 Why This List Matters for MSMEs
- For Indian MSMEs, digital payments are no longer optional: they are a growth lever.
- With the availability of multiple online payment systems, you can tap into global rails (for exports) and local rails (for domestic sales) easily.
- Local systems like UPI and gateways eliminate high cost of infrastructure and high MDR (merchant discount rate).
- Accepting payments via QR, links, subscriptions, P2P, payouts, credit lines: all enabled via these platforms.
- You get trust, speed & convenience – keys to winning customers in the digital age.
🧾 Evolution of Online Payment Systems in India (Short Timeline)
- 2000-2010: Gateways + net-banking + cards dominate e-commerce.
- 2011-2015: Wallets (Paytm) + RuPay card scheme. Early rural rail (AePS) emerges.
- 2016-2019: UPI launched; static/dynamic QR acceptance hits MSMEs; smartphones + merchants boom.
- 2020-2023: Expansion to every corner: soundbox devices, no MDR for QR small-merchants; credit on UPI announced.
- 2024-2025: UPI ecosystem matures; link-payments + invoice-payments + international rails start; gateway stacks integrate payouts + subscriptions for MSMEs.
🏁 Final Word
Online payment systems are not luxury add-ons: for Indian MSMEs they are now a must-have business tool.
From acceptance to settlement, from credit access to customer convenience – choose the right mix of these systems.
Start small (QR), scale smart (links + subscriptions), grow fast (export + credit).
Your payment stack could become your growth engine.
✍️ About the Author
BusinessZindagi writes practical, no-jargon guides on business, MSMEs, compliance, fintech & digital growth in India.
🔗 References (click to read more)
- PayPal – Wikipedia — global payment system history and operations.
- UPI – NPCI Product Overview — official UPI description.
- Alipay – Wikipedia — history of Alipay.
- Klarna – Wikipedia — founding and global presence of Klarna.
- What is UPI and How it Works – Razorpay Blog — MSME-friendly explanation.
- BIS Paper: Lessons from UPI — detailed analysis of UPI infrastructure
