Fintech Startup Skydo Aims To Make Cross-Border Payments As Easy As UPI

Skydo was built with a deep understanding of the challenges faced by exporters in managing cross-border payments. Founded in 2022 by Srivatsan Sridhar and Movin Jain, and operating under the RBI’s Online Payment Gateway Service Providers (OPGSP) framework, the Bengaluru-based fintech has also applied for the Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PA-CB) license. “Having recently raised $5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Elevation Capital, Skydo is on a mission to make cross-border payments as convenient, cost-effective, and seamless as UPI”, says Movin Jain, Co-Founder of Skydo in an exclusive interaction with Bizz Buzz

What factors contributed to cross-border payments remaining an untapped sector, and how will RBI's PA-CB regulation affect cross-border payment aggregators?

Cross-border payments remained relatively untapped for several reasons. Firstly, it took a coordinated effort from multiple companies to bring attention to the sector, helping gain traction with regulators and financial authorities. The Covid-19 pandemic then accelerated globalization, driving a surge in demand for cross-border transactions. India’s exports rose significantly due to global shifts, including an anti-China sentiment and increased demand for Indian goods. Additionally, the government’s export-focused policies and regulatory attention further stimulated growth in this space.

RBI’s PA-CB regulation, introduced late last year, is a pivotal step toward formalizing and enhancing the cross-border payments ecosystem. For platforms like Skydo, this regulation ensures transparency, security and trust, especially for MSME exporters. By setting strict compliance standards, only well-regulated and financially strong players will remain in the market, reducing risks related to fraud and delayed payments. At Skydo, we have applied for this license and are awaiting approval. For us, this is an opportunity to further strengthen our position as a trusted partner for small exporters, reducing inefficiencies in the system and offering more transparent and cost-effective payment solutions.

How do you see the internationalization of UPI and NPCI's global partnerships impacting the cross-border payment space?

The internationalization of UPI and NPCI's global partnerships is an exciting development for the cross-border payment space. For companies like us, it’s a great opportunity for two reasons. First, we could potentially use the UPI infrastructure to offer our services at a lower cost and with even greater efficiency, passing those benefits directly to our customers. Second, this move will shine a brighter spotlight on the B2B Payments space in general, and particularly companies like Skydo, opening up more opportunities for global partnerships. India’s fintech ecosystem, especially UPI, is gaining recognition, and international players will increasingly want to partner with Indian fintechs to tap into this growth.

So far, the focus has been primarily on consumer payments, which include peer-to-peer transactions—like sending money to friends, relatives, or household staff—and peer-to-merchant payments, where consumers scan QR codes or use UPI IDs to make purchases. However, B2B payments are fundamentally different from consumer transactions. They typically involve larger transaction amounts, more complex documentation, and specific tax and compliance requirements. Also, every business has different systems—whether it’s accounting software, ERP, or payment schedules—so UPI would still need platforms like ours to layer on top of their infrastructure. We would certainly welcome an expansion of UPI’s focus towards B2B payments, as it would allow us to leverage this infrastructure to enhance our platform. While we remain in active conversations with NPCI and the team working on International UPI, their current focus is on consumer payments.

What are the main challenges faced by Indian MSME exporters in managing cross-border payments and how is Skydo addressing it?

Indian MSME exporters face several payment-related challenges in cross-border payments. The most significant is the lack of transparency around fees and exchange rates, often leaving them with high costs that they don't fully understand. They also experience delays in payment processing, as smaller exporters don’t receive the same level of attention from their bank’s relationship managers as larger clients, slowing down the process even after funds have arrived.

When entering new countries, businesses often lack guidance from their banks, which may not have the expertise to navigate the complexities of international payments. India’s exports are about $750 billion, but only around $10-20 billion of that is B2C. The rest is B2B, which presents a massive opportunity. B2B companies, especially MSMEs, face significant challenges with cross-border payments—high costs, long delays, and lack of transparency. We saw a gap in the market to serve these businesses better, providing them with the same convenience and efficiency that B2C companies have enjoyed.

At Skydo, we’ve built a cross-border payments platform that directly addresses these challenges. We ensure complete cost transparency with a flat fee structure, so exporters know exactly what they will pay upfront. Our platform automates the entire payment process, allowing exporters to receive funds within one business day, significantly reducing delays. We also offer specialized support for cross-border payments, with a dedicated team trained to handle complex queries, which is often lacking in traditional banks. Currently, we serve around 10,000 freelancers and small to medium-sized businesses, processing several hundred million dollars in payments into India each year.

What steps are fintechs taking to build trust and address concerns that exporters may have when adopting a new payment platform compared to their legacy bank?

Trust is critical in the fintech space, especially when it comes to payments, and even more so with cross-border payments with stringent compliance requirements. For many small and medium businesses, there’s a real concern about doing anything that could be perceived as non-compliant.

Having worked at PhonePe, I learned early on that fintechs must embrace regulation rather than view it as a constraint. We’ve built a strong compliance team with experts from institutions like Citibank, American Express and Amazon, who have extensive experience dealing with global regulatory requirements. As an RBI-approved platform, we have prioritized building a proactive compliance infrastructure to stay ahead in identifying and mitigating potential risks. This helps protect exporters and ensures that payments are secure and risk-free. We have also partnered with trusted global banks such as DBS Bank in India and Singapore, and Barclays Bank in Europe and the UK and Visa which further enhances our credibility. Additionally, we actively participate in local and industry events for exporters. By meeting customers in person, setting up stalls, and engaging directly with businesses, we provide a human connection that helps build confidence and foster trust.

How fintechs are leveraging technology for cross-border payments vis a vis legacy institutions like banks?

New-age fintech platforms are solving many of the challenges of traditional banking by leveraging modern technologies. From a fintech industry perspective, API integrations are at the core of how modern platforms are transforming cross-border payments and financial services. APIs enable fintech companies to seamlessly connect with a variety of banks and financial institutions, streamlining transactions and improving overall efficiency. This interoperability not only accelerates payment processing but also simplifies complex operations, such as currency conversion and compliance management, which traditionally burden businesses using legacy banking systems.

In addition to APIs, fintech companies heavily rely on cloud technology to ensure that their platforms are scalable, secure, and able to handle large transaction volumes with ease. Cloud infrastructure allows fintechs to offer real-time services, ensuring high availability and reliability for customers globally. The security features of modern cloud platforms also help fintechs meet stringent compliance requirements while providing peace of mind to their clients. This level of scalability and security is a significant competitive advantage over traditional banking systems, which often struggle with rigid, outdated infrastructure.

The use of APIs and cloud technology allows fintech platforms to offer faster, more efficient cross-border payments compared to banks, which typically rely on slower, manual processes like SWIFT. By leveraging these technologies, fintechs reduce transaction times, lower costs, and provide more transparency and control to businesses.

With the recent $5 million fundraise, how does Skydo plan to leverage these investments to enhance its platform and expand its global reach?

With the recent fundraise, our primary focus is on expanding our technology infrastructure. We plan to invest further in our platform to ensure it remains secure, fraud-free, and efficient as our customer base grows. Additionally, we are channeling funds toward our global growth strategy. While we’ve started with India, our long-term goal is to build a cross-border payments platform that operates across multiple global corridors, enabling seamless transactions from any country to any country.

A significant part of the investment will also go towards strengthening our compliance team. With cross-border payments being a heavily regulated area, ensuring top-quality compliance and security measures is a priority. We are also exploring new categories, such as the e-commerce exports market, where we aim to help Indian exporters streamline revenue collection from global sales, for which we have recently received approval from a global ecommerce marketplace.