Payoneer enters India’s cross-border payments market
The US online payments company said it will officially enter the Indian market by the end of this month, with its focus on smaller businesses.
The US online payments company said it will officially enter the Indian market by the end of this month, with its focus on smaller businesses.
US-based online payments company Payoneer announced that it will extend its service to Indian consumers and small businesses later this month.
The cross-border service is being promoted as enabling small and medium enterprises (SMEs), start-ups, freelancers and other professionals to receive international payments quickly, efficiently and inexpensively.
“At Payoneer, we make it our mission to empower global commerce by enabling businesses and professionals to pay and get paid globally as easily they do locally,” said Scott Galit, Payoneer’s chief executive officer (CEO).
“Previously, Indian freelancers, online marketers and other professionals faced high fees and slow transfer times, and our cross-border payments platform directly addresses these challenges.”
“We are working to build a presence in India, enabling small businesses to sell to clients in foreign markets, receiving payments in real time at cheaper rates. India will be a strategic investment for the company this year. We are looking at long-term growth, so no specific target numbers yet.”
To meet Indian regulatory requirements, Payoneer has partnered with Indusland Bank after getting an approval from the central governance. The company claims to have already received expressions of interest in the new service from more than 10,000 Indian SMEs and plans to recruit 250 people to for its global business, a large portion of which will be focused in India.
“The billing system uses our collection services that collect the payments for free. For instance, a client in Europe – we give them (Indian SMEs) the ability to send their bills to our platform and have electronic credit card collection services,” said Galit. “Now when the money is actually delivered to Indian businesses, our starting rate on the foreign exchange to convert from pounds to rupee (INR) is 2%.
“Since we have a partnership with 99designs, Upwork, Google, Airbnb and a host of other platforms, we will connect Indian SMEs to these platforms.”