PhonePe PG Checkout is a hosted checkout experience meaning the payment page where customers enter their card, UPI, or wallet details is securely hosted on PhonePe Payment Gateway’s servers, not on the merchant’s website or app.
When a customer proceeds to pay, the merchant’s system simply redirects the user to the PhonePe PG’s hosted payment page (or displays it within an embedded iFrame). All sensitive payment data such as card numbers, CVV, or UPI credentials is entered and processed directly on the PhonePe Payment Gateway domain.
This architecture has several key implications:
1. Reduced PCI DSS scope:
Since the merchant’s infrastructure never handles or stores card details, their PCI compliance requirements drop drastically. PhonePe PG, being PCI DSS Level 1 certified, takes full responsibility for card data security.
2. Simplified integration and maintenance:
Merchants don’t have to build payment collection flows or maintain encryption logic. PhonePe Payment Gateway provides pre-built flows for cards, UPI, wallets, and net banking.
3. Consistent and reliable customer experience:
Customers are redirected to a PhonePe Payment Gateway branded page that adapts to devices, and supports 3DS authentication, OTP handling, and tokenization all out of the box.
4. Configurable branding and flows:
While the page is hosted by PhonePe PG, merchants can still apply their logo, color palette, and messaging, and control aspects like which payment methods appear, time limits for completion, and redirect URLs after success or failure.
For example, here’s how the checkout journey would look like for an ecommerce brand that uses PhonePe PG Checkout:
A customer adds items to their cart and clicks “Pay Now.”
The brand’s website creates a payment order through the PhonePe Payment Gateway API.
The customer is then redirected to the PhonePe PG Checkout page, a fast, secure page already optimized for mobile and desktop.
On this hosted checkout, the customer sees the brand’s logo and colors, chooses UPI as the payment method, and authorizes the transaction using their UPI app.
Once the payment is complete, PhonePe Payment Gateway securely redirects the customer back to the brand’s “Order Confirmation” page with real-time status updates.
What are the Various Benefits of PhonePe PG Checkout?
1. Checkout That Adapts to Your Business
PhonePe PG Checkout can be tailored to match your business model and flow. Merchants can configure layouts, enable or disable specific fields, and set rules for different order types ensuring every customer sees a checkout experience that fits the transaction. This flexibility helps reduce drop-offs and improves completion rates across varied use cases like retail, travel, or online services.
2. Consistent Brand Experience Across Payments
With configurable design options, PhonePe PG Checkout allows merchants to apply brand colors, logos, and messages directly on the payment page. Customers see a familiar, consistent interface even though payments are processed securely on PhonePe’s servers. This helps increase trust, minimize hesitation, and improve overall conversions.
3. Faster and Smoother Payment Completion
PhonePe PG Checkout uses features like Native UPI Intent and Half-Page SDK to ensure payments happen faster directly through the user’s app or within your embedded checkout. By removing extra redirects and manual steps, businesses see higher success rates and fewer abandoned transactions.
4. Control Over Available Payment Options
Every business has preferred payment methods based on customer behavior or operational ease. PhonePe PG Checkout lets merchants enable or disable specific payment modes like UPI, cards, wallets, or net banking for each order type. This ensures customers only see relevant options, improving clarity, reducing confusion, and leading to faster checkouts.
5. Recover Revenue from Failed Payments
PhonePe PG Checkout automatically detects failed attempts and triggers retry flows, prompting customers to complete payments without manual follow-ups. This automated recovery mechanism helps merchants recover a significant portion of potentially lost transactions, improving total realized revenue.
6. Faster Repeat Purchases with Saved Cards
For returning customers, PhonePe PG Checkout supports secure card tokenization letting them pay instantly using saved cards. It removes the need to re-enter details while keeping transactions PCI-compliant and secure. This results in faster repeat payments, higher customer retention, and improved lifetime value.
Once your account is approved, you’ll get access to the merchant dashboard, where you can manage payments, refunds, and reports. You’ll receive:
Merchant credentials (like Client ID and Salt Key)
Access to sandbox and production environments for testing and live payments
This is your starting point before moving to the technical setup.
Step 2: Choose Your Integration Type
PhonePe Payment Gateway offers flexible integration options based on your business setup:
Website Integration: Ideal for eCommerce or booking platforms where customers pay on your website.
Mobile App Integration: Perfect for apps that want a native, in-app checkout experience.
Hosted Checkout (Default): Best for most businesses PhonePe PG handles the payment page, security, and compliance.
Most merchants start with hosted checkout because it’s simple, fast to set up, and fully secure.
Step 3: Configure the Checkout
Once you’ve decided how to integrate, you can customize your checkout experience from your merchant dashboard or via configuration APIs. You can:
Add your brand logo and colors to match your website or app
Enable or disable payment methods (UPI, cards, wallets, net banking) based on your business needs
Set payment time limits for customers to complete transactions
Manage retry options for failed payments
These options help create a checkout that fits your brand and boosts conversions.
Step 4: Connect the Checkout to Your Website or App
Now, it’s time to connect the checkout page to your business. You can do this in two simple ways:
Redirect method: Your website sends customers to the secure PhonePe Payment Gateway page for payment, and then redirects them back once the payment is complete.
iframe method: The checkout page appears inside your own site, keeping customers on your domain while PhonePe handles the payment securely in the background.
Either method ensures that sensitive card or UPI data never touches your servers, keeping your business PCI-compliant by default.
Step 5: Test in the Sandbox
Before going live, test everything in the sandbox environment. You can simulate:
Successful and failed transactions
Refunds
Payment status checks
This helps ensure your setup works perfectly before you start accepting real payments.
Step 6: Go Live
Once testing is complete and everything works smoothly, switch your environment to production mode. Your checkout will now start processing real customer payments instantly.
After going live, you can track transactions, analyze performance, and manage refunds or settlements directly from your PhonePe Payment Gateway dashboard.
Step 7: Monitor and Optimize
PhonePe PG provides detailed insights and reports to help you optimize payment performance. You can monitor:
Success rates across payment methods
Drop-offs and retries
Customer payment preferences
This helps your business identify what’s working best and continuously improve checkout success rates.
Conclusion
PhonePe PG Checkout empowers businesses to offer customers a checkout that’s smooth, secure, and tailored to their brand. Its ready-to-use payment flows are built for performance, helping merchants reduce drop-offs and close more successful transactions.
