Guide
Recurring payments in India
An international subscription app assumes a card it can charge whenever it likes. That is not how recurring payments work here — and it is the most common reason a subscription launch quietly fails in India.
The three things the framework requires
- A registered mandate. The customer authorises the schedule once, with additional factor authentication. You are not storing a card and deciding later.
- A pre-debit notification at least 24 hours before every charge — not just the first.
- Authentication above the limit. Below a per-transaction threshold the debit is silent. Above it, the customer must approve each one.
What this changes about your store
- Your pricing — a plan above the limit turns every renewal into a task for the customer
- Your payment rails — card-only funnels lose signups you never see
- Your invoicing — every renewal is a supply needing a tax invoice, not a receipt
- Your failure handling — a mandate problem is not fixed by a retry
Questions to ask any subscription app
- Does it register an e-mandate at checkout, or store a card and hope?
- Does it send the pre-debit notification, or is that left to you?
- Does it support UPI Autopay?
- Does it produce GST invoices on renewals?
An app can answer no to all four and still be marketed as supporting India. It will take the first payment. It will not take the second one reliably.
What Super Subscription does
Built in India, for Indian stores first. Mandate registration during checkout, the 24-hour notification sent automatically with skip and address links in it, UPI Autopay alongside cards, and a GST invoice on every renewal computed from the delivery address at that delivery.
Everything in this guide
The RBI E-Mandate Limit and How It Should Shape Your Pricing
The per-transaction limit for recurring payments in India decides whether renewals clear silently or need customer approval. Here is how to price around it.
Recurring Payments in India: The RBI E-Mandate, Explained
How recurring payments actually work in India — the RBI e-mandate framework, the 24-hour pre-debit notification, the AFA limit, and what breaks if you ignore them.
UPI Autopay for Subscriptions: How It Works for Merchants
UPI Autopay lets Indian customers approve recurring debits from their UPI app. How the mandate flow works, the limits, and why it converts better than cards.
GST on Subscriptions: Invoicing Every Renewal Correctly
Each subscription renewal is a supply needing its own tax invoice. What a compliant GST invoice requires, and why most subscription apps only produce receipts.
Pre-Debit Notifications: What You Must Send Before Every Charge
India's recurring payment rules require notifying the customer 24 hours before every debit. What the notification must contain, and how to make it earn its keep.
Shopify Subscriptions in India: What Actually Works
Selling subscriptions on Shopify from an Indian store — payment rails, GST on renewals, pricing around the mandate limit, and the app choices that matter.
Why Indian Subscription Payments Fail (And What Fixes Each One)
Renewals fail differently in India. Mandate expiry, missing notifications, the AFA limit and revoked UPI mandates each need a different fix from a plain retry.