Selection Rule: Still active online payment systems, globally recognised and working.

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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

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🇮🇳 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.

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🔎 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.

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🧾 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.

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🏁 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.

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✍️ About the Author

BusinessZindagi writes practical, no-jargon guides on business, MSMEs, compliance, fintech & digital growth in India.

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🔗 References (click to read more)

1. PayPal – Wikipedia — global payment system history and operations.
2. UPI – NPCI Product Overview — official UPI description.
3. Alipay – Wikipedia — history of Alipay.
4. Klarna – Wikipedia — founding and global presence of Klarna.
5. What is UPI and How it Works – Razorpay Blog — MSME-friendly explanation.
6. BIS Paper: Lessons from UPI — detailed analysis of UPI infrastructure