Thanks to the government’s push for digital payments in the country, multinational players have spotted a robust business prospect in India.
New York-headquartered digital payments services provider Payoneer is reaching out to entrepreneurs, freelancers and small and medium businesses (SMBs) to use its platform to pay or receive moneys in international currencies at low cost.
Operational in India since August 2016, Payoneer conducts transactions for businesses across 200 countries, providing a platform to transact in about 150 currencies.
“We have built a platform for businesses to receive or make payments in a hassle-free and cost-effective way. Unlike banks, there is zero transfer fee and no documentation charges. It saves up to 71 per cent on currency conversion compared to other payment solutions. We obtained RBI licence in 2015 and have been allowed to receive up to $10,000 per transaction,” said Rohit Kulkarni, Country Manager, Payoneer India.
The platform supports wire transfers too, which enhances its capacity to transfer in excess of $100,000.
With no large physical infrastructure, it is seen as a cost-effective and sustainable business model for the company. “We have a staff of 10 people in India and our country headquarters is Bengaluru,” he added.
According to Kulkarni, the Indian market is under-served and in terms of smartphones (per head) and broadband connectivity, is yet to reach the levels achieved by other emerging economies.
“There is a lot of opportunity in this space as we see a lot of outsourcing work happening from India,” he said.
The company works with more than 50 global banks and Indian lenders, such as ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank, among others.
Payoneer supports payments from companies in the US, Europe, the UK and Japan.
“Freelancers, merchants and affiliates simply sign in to their account on the company’s website and select Payoneer as their payout method,” he said.
Clients can pay freelancers online using their credit card, company bank account or through eCheck.