As more Indian businesses sell services, software and products to overseas customers, fintech start-ups are racing to rebuild the pipes used to move money across borders.

For decades, cross-border payments relied on traditional banking rails such as SWIFT, which moved funds through several intermediary banks before reaching the recipient — often taking days and incurring multiple charges along the way.

That structure was feasible for large corporates moving high-value payments but proved cumbersome for small exporters, freelancers and digital businesses selling globally.

Fintech companies such as Razorpay, Cashfree Payments and Skydo are attempting to plug this gap by building software-led cross-border payment infrastructure that enables businesses to collect payments globally, manage foreign exchange and automate regulatory compliance.

Global reach

“Cross-border commerce is no longer limited to large enterprises,” says Rahul Kothari, COO, Razorpay, noting that digital-first businesses — from SaaS firms to niche e-commerce brands — are increasingly targeting global customers from the outset.

Razorpay enables merchants to accept payments in more than 130 currencies and global wallets, which allows international consumers to transact easily with Indian businesses. The company says the adoption of its cross-border stack has accelerated sharply, with the monthly transacting user base doubling.

The platform caters to over one lakh Indian exporters across sectors such as travel, e-commerce, education and digital services.

“Our cross-border stack is trusted by global leaders such as Airbnb, Agoda, Klook, Shopify and Hostinger, as well as Indian brands including Mokobara, Akasa Air, Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop and House of Masaba,” Kothari says.

Trust factor

Cashfree’s platform enables merchants to accept international payments through familiar methods such as Apple Pay or international credit cards.

This has helped increase conversion rates for businesses selling abroad, says Akash Sinha, Co-founder and CEO of Cashfree Payments.

“When international buyers can pay using methods they already trust, checkout drop-offs fall dramatically,” Sinha says, adding that revenues rise significantly as a result.

The platform also serves international businesses that want to sell in India without setting up a local entity. These companies — ranging from SaaS platforms to OTT services — often struggle with low success rates on international card payments.

Failure rates in international card transactions in India can be as high as 35-40 per cent, Sinha says, partly due to authentication and currency conversion issues.

“By enabling local payment methods such as UPI and RuPay, success rates can exceed 85 per cent,” he says.

Cross-border payments have quickly become one of Cashfree’s fastest-growing segments — volumes have grown 250 per cent year-on-year, while the merchant base for international payments has doubled to more than 10,000 businesses, the company says.

The segment currently contributes 10-15 per cent of the company’s overall revenue, and the targeted share is 25-30 per cent by FY27.

For fintech firms, the economics of cross-border payments are significantly stronger, compared with domestic transactions.

“Because cross-border transactions involve forex conversion, compliance and additional infrastructure, the margins are roughly twice that of domestic payments,” Sinha says.

Building infrastructure

Skydo focuses on entities receiving payments from overseas clients. Its 35,000-strong customer base includes SaaS firms, digital marketing agencies and small exporters in sectors such as garments, processed food and home furnishings. A growing segment comprises freelancers working with global clients through platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr.

“The core problem is that cross-border payments still run on legacy infrastructure, where money moves through several intermediary banks before reaching the recipient,” explains Srivatsan Sridhar, Co-founder and CEO of Skydo.

Beyond the payment itself, exporters must also navigate compliance requirements such as FIRA (foreign inward remittance advice) documentation, export reporting and regular bank follow-ups, which can be time-consuming for smaller businesses.

Skydo’s platform attempts to simplify the process by combining payment processing with automated compliance workflows.

“Exporters need predictable settlement timelines and documentation workflows that align with how Indian export businesses actually operate,” Sridhar points out.

Skydo says it processes over $1 billion in annualised cross-border payment volumes.

Regulatory impetus

Industry executives say regulatory changes are also accelerating innovation in the sector.

The Reserve Bank of India’s ‘Payment Aggregator–Cross Border’ (PA-CB) framework has given fintech firms regulatory clarity to build independent technology infrastructure rather than relying solely on bank partnerships.

“The PA-CB regime recognises non-bank payment firms as regulated entities,” Sinha says, making long-term investment in cross-border payment infrastructure more viable.

Looking ahead, fintech firms believe the next phase of innovation will move beyond cross-border payments to a broader financial operating layer.

Skydo, for instance, is exploring products centred around global collections, international payouts, compliance tools and financial workflows to help businesses manage cross-border receivables.

“The long-term goal is to build a financial operating system for global businesses,” Sridhar says. “Payments, compliance and financial management will eventually work together on a single platform.”

As India’s digital exports continue to grow, fintech start-ups are betting that the infrastructure powering those payments could become one of the country’s most important financial technology layers and, in turn, put them at the centre of a rapidly expanding global trade ecosystem.

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Published on March 16, 2026