Zoho launches Zoho Payments Gateway and B2B bill payment solutions

The company also introduced enhanced B2B payment capabilities, which aim to streamline invoice management and payments.

Zoho, the Chennai-based technology company, announced at the Global Fintech Fest on August 29 that it is entering the payments sector with the launch of Zoho Payments. This unified payment solution is designed to enable businesses to easily accept online payments from their customers.

The company also unveiled enhanced B2B payment capabilities, powered by the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) from NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL), aimed at simplifying invoice management and payments.

“At Zoho, we strongly believe that business finance, banking, and payments should work together,” said Sivaramakrishnan Iswaran, Global Head of Finance and Operations BU, Zoho. “Towards this vision, we had launched our ‘Connected Banking’ solution across our finance apps, integrating with leading banks. With the launch of Zoho Payments today, along with B2B payment capabilities, we are able to achieve our goal. NBBL's BBPS standardises invoice presentment and payments, providing multiple payment modes, instant payment confirmations, invoice financing, and a unified platform for invoice transmission and reconciliation. This marks a major advancement in the fintech domain. As a result, we can now offer a more holistic financial management solution for businesses.

According to the company, Zoho Payments is a PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant solution that allows businesses to securely process payments via UPI, over 35 net banking options, and credit/debit cards. The solution is designed to enhance the checkout experience for customers, significantly lowering cart abandonment rates and reducing revenue loss. It said it also provides features for fraud management, detailed transaction insights, handling refunds and payment failures, and dispute resolution, thereby saving businesses time and resources.

Zoho stated that Zoho Payments is seamlessly integrated with its finance and operations suite, including Zoho Books, Zoho Billing, and Zoho Invoice. This integration, it said, enables businesses to connect directly with Zoho Payments, allowing them to start accepting online payments quickly without the need for third-party payment gateways or additional accounts.

According to Zoho, Zoho Payments, acting as a payment aggregator, has been registered as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) with the NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL). This registration enables Zoho Payments to onboard buyers and sellers onto the BBPS network and facilitate B2B payments, it said.

Zoho added that its payment solution is tightly integrated with Zoho Books, allowing businesses to seamlessly exchange invoices and transactions with their buyers and sellers through the BBPS network. Invoices processed via Zoho Books on the BBPS platform are automatically recorded in the buyer’s ERP or accounting system, while bills from sellers are automatically updated in Zoho Books, it said. Businesses can also access financing for unpaid invoices through the TReDS platform via the BBPS network, it added.

Furthermore, it said Zoho Payments offers businesses the flexibility to accept and send payments through various methods, including NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, UPI, cards, and net banking. The solution automatically updates and reconciles payment information with corresponding invoices, reducing manual efforts. It also supports bulk payments for multiple bills, simplifying the payment process and eliminating the need to export bills for bank processing, it said.