PayHere Checkout

PayHere Checkout is an online payment gateway for Sri Lankan businesses collecting remote payments from local and foreign customers. It supports Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, HelaPay, Frimi, Genie, iPay, Q Plus, and Sampath Vishwa. Listed payment currencies are LKR, USD, GBP, EUR, and AUD.

Merchants can collect payments through payment links, shopping cart plugins, checkout APIs, or mobile SDKs; PayHere Links can be used without a website. Onsite Checkout lets customers pay within a merchant's site, with payment credentials captured in an iframe served by PCI DSS certified backends. PayHere supports recurring payments and subscriptions and says it manages subscriptions for merchants. Listed plugins include OpenCart, WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, ShopHere, Shopify, WHMCS, CS-Cart, and Moodle. Mobile SDKs are listed for Android, iOS, React Native, and Flutter. Plans include free options and paid tiers, with no setup fees. Foreign currency payments incur an additional 1.0% fee above the active plan's processing fee. Applicants need a valid business and local bank account.

PayHere Checkout offers several ways for eligible Sri Lankan businesses to collect remote payments, including links, plugins, APIs, and SDKs. Review the processing fee and unsupported-business limits before applying.

PayHere suits Sri Lankan businesses accepting remote payments for goods or services from local or foreign customers. Applicants need a valid business and a local bank account.

PayHere Checkout is an online payment gateway for Sri Lankan businesses that take remote payments. It suits eligible merchants that need payment links, website checkout or app integrations, including recurring billing. Its flexible collection options are a strength, but fees, transaction caps and business exclusions narrow its appeal.

Overview

Customers can pay by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and Diners Club, as well as local services including HelaPay, Frimi, Genie, iPay, Q Plus and Sampath Vishwa. PayHere supports LKR, USD, GBP, EUR and AUD. Merchants can collect through payment links without a website, or use shopping-cart plugins, checkout APIs and mobile SDKs. Onsite Checkout keeps payment within a merchant’s website, with credentials captured in an iframe served by PCI DSS certified backends.

Recurring payments and subscriptions make PayHere relevant to businesses with repeat billing, while dashboard materials include issuing refunds. PayHere states that it is Central Bank approved, ISO/IEC 27001 certified and PCI DSS compliant through partner banks. There are no setup fees; foreign-currency payments add 1.0% to the active plan’s processing fee.

Key features

• Flexible payment collection: Payment links work for merchants who do not have a website; plugins, APIs and mobile SDKs give online stores and app businesses other routes. That range is useful, though businesses should choose a plan with caps suited to their expected volume.
• Store and platform plugins: Integrations include OpenCart, WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, ShopHere, Shopify, WHMCS, CS-Cart and Moodle. This can simplify adoption for businesses already using one of those platforms.
• Mobile development support: Android, iOS, React Native and Flutter SDKs support app integrations, making PayHere a more practical fit for mobile services than a link-only payment tool.
• Recurring billing: PayHere supports subscriptions and says it manages them for merchants. This can suit businesses charging on a schedule rather than collecting only individual purchases.

Pricing

PayHere has no setup fee. The free plans charge per transaction, while monthly plans trade a subscription charge for lower processing fees and higher or unlimited payment limits. Foreign-currency payments incur an additional 1.0% above the active plan’s fee.

LITE avoids a monthly bill, but its 3.30% fee and tight caps can constrain a growing merchant. PLUS lowers the fee and raises those limits for a monthly charge. EDU combines the lowest listed processing rate with unlimited monthly payments, but is limited to education-related businesses; PREMIUM allows larger individual payments and unlimited monthly volume at the same monthly price. GOV is specifically for government payments, not a general-purpose free tier.

Platforms

PayHere supports Android, iOS, web and API use. The SDKs cover Android, iOS, React Native and Flutter, while web merchants can use Onsite Checkout or the listed store plugins. This breadth suits businesses collecting across sites and apps, but does not remove the eligibility restrictions.

Who it's for

Any Sri Lankan business selling goods or services to local or foreign customers and accepting remote payments may apply, provided it has a valid business and a local bank account. The gateway is a strong candidate for eligible merchants who want local payment methods alongside international cards, or need both link-based and integrated checkout. It is not suitable for donations. PayHere also excludes gems and jewellery, unauthorized software licenses, outbound tours, dating, astrology, dropshipping, print-on-demand and multi-vendor platforms.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Several ways to collect. Links, plugins, APIs and SDKs let merchants choose a route that matches whether they sell through a website, app or neither.
• Pro: Local and international payment coverage. A range of local methods sits alongside major card networks, with five supported currencies.
• Pro: Subscription support. Recurring payments and subscription management broaden its usefulness beyond single purchases.
• Con: Free does not mean low-cost at every volume. LITE charges 3.30% and caps payments at LKR 50,000 each and LKR 200,000 monthly.
• Con: Foreign currency adds cost. The extra 1.0% applies on top of the plan’s processing fee.
• Con: Eligibility rules exclude some businesses. Donations and several named business categories cannot use PayHere, regardless of checkout needs.

Alternatives

Hosted Checkout Software is a useful category to browse when comparing hosted checkout options.

Checkout Page is worth considering for businesses that want a freemium checkout option with API, iOS and web support; its free plan is capped at $3,000 in sales per 30 days and one team member.

Mollie may suit merchants looking for pay-as-you-go pricing: its listed plan has no contract or commitment and charges by payment type. PayHere is the more directly relevant fit for businesses that meet its Sri Lankan eligibility requirements and want its local methods and payment links.

PayPal Invoicing is a better match when creating and sending invoices without setup or subscription fees is the main need; transaction fees apply when customers pay.

Checkout.com is an alternative for businesses considering tailored pricing, while registered charities in countries where it operates have a free processing option. PayHere cannot be used to collect donations.

HitPay Payment Links suits merchants who want payment links without setup or monthly fees and are comfortable paying a 0.2% link fee plus the payment method’s processing fee.

Midtrans offers pay-per-successful-transaction pricing without a subscription or integration fee; its transaction rates vary by payment method.

Paystack is another transaction-priced option, with a listed Nigeria rate of 1.5% plus NGN 100 for local transactions; the NGN 100 fee is waived under NGN 2,500.

Xendit may be relevant to businesses looking for a platform option with separate platform and account fees.

Verdict

PayHere Checkout is a sensible choice for eligible Sri Lankan businesses that need a mix of payment links, integrated checkout and recurring billing. Its strongest reason to choose it is the breadth of collection methods and local payment support; its clearest reasons to look elsewhere are the LITE caps, added foreign-currency fee and exclusions for particular business types. Confirm that your business qualifies and compare the plan fee against expected payment sizes and monthly volume before applying.