Payment gateway
A payment gateway is the service that securely takes a client's card or UPI payment online and moves the money to your account. Book A Sloth uses Razorpay, an RBI-authorised payment aggregator, so payments are handled to Indian regulatory standards and you never touch raw card details.
Why payment gateway matters
A payment gateway sits between your client's bank or card and your bank account. It shows the checkout, verifies the payment with the bank or UPI app, and settles the money to you after deducting its charge. In India, companies that collect and settle payments for merchants are regulated by the RBI as payment aggregators.
For a professional, the gateway decides which payment methods clients can use, how fast money reaches you and what it costs. Setting one up directly usually means a business KYC, a website with published policies, and some development work to connect it to your bookings.
Book A Sloth runs the checkout through Razorpay, an RBI-authorised payment aggregator, so you do not need your own gateway account. You complete KYC from your dashboard, which sets up a Razorpay Linked Account, and payouts go to the bank account on it. The gateway's charge is passed through at cost and shown on each payout statement.
Example
When a Surat client pays ₹1,000 for a styling consultation by UPI, Razorpay processes the payment and deducts its charge, and the stylist's share reaches her bank about a day after the session.
Related terms
Book A Sloth turns these into one link: a booking page with upfront payment over UPI, GST invoices and automatic reminders.