Skydo, a cross-border payments startup, has gained in-principle clearance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border entity. Skydo is one of the first companies in the cross-border payments industry to get this authorization.
Skydo believes that this will help it achieve its goal of making cross-border payments more compliant, seamless, and cost-effective for Indian exporters. The company started operations in 2022 and now serves over 12,000 exporters in India, handling over $250 million in annual export payments.
Skydo describes its customers as small and medium-sized businesses that sell a variety of products and services to global customers. The platform collaborates with key banks globally and offers a comprehensive solution for managing invoicing, payments, and reconciliation.
The Bengaluru-based company's key features include transparent pricing and fees with no markup on live mid-market forex rates, digital onboarding with instant KYC, dedicated customer support, quick settlements, and streamlined regulatory compliance with instant issuance of Foreign Inward Remittance Advice (FIRA).
With this approval, Skydo intends to increase its payment volume by tenfold over the next 18-24 months, extend to handle import payments, and establish new global trade corridors. The company also plans to launch various first-to-market items for India's expanding MSME export sector. It will expand its services to include credit, tax compliance, treasury management, and Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS) reconciliation.
Skydo also just received Payment Service Provider (PSP) clearance from Amazon, allowing it to process payments for exporters who participate in Amazon's Global Selling program.
Skydo wants to simplify cross-border B2B payments and lower FX costs for firms by more than 50%. So far, Elevation Capital has lead the USD 9.7 million equity fundraising effort. The company works with prominent banks across the world to give businesses and freelancers with overseas virtual accounts that allow them to receive payments without incurring tax or compliance costs.
