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From a small-scale apparel seller to a mid-level online saree distributor, online global opportunities are no longer restricted to large enterprises. As of 2026, an SME in Pune or a SaaS startup in Bengaluru can have clients in London, Tokyo, or Dubai. The rise of digitalization and globalization via e-commerce has made it easier for Indian businesses to reach a large number of customers in the international market.
Such cross-border business opportunities only work with the ability of a business or customer to send and receive money across the global market through a secure and safe passage. With India’s service exporters crossing USD 420 billion in 2025, the importance of a strong cross-border payments compliance amplifies by 10X speed.
Prior to RBI’s circular and regulations, all cross-border transactions for import and export of goods and services were governed and enabled through the online payment gateway providers (OPGSPs)- businesses were only needed to open accounts with Authorized Dealer Category-I Banks to enable global payments for imports and export transactions.
Since the Dec. 23 RBI circular and subsequent regulations, non-bank entities are now allowed to enter into the cross-border payment aggregator business, which was earlier limited to AD for online international transactions. Along with the import of services, now even goods are eligible for import PACB, which was earlier restricted under the OPGSPs without having to deal with the AD banks.
So, whether you are an exporter, merchant, a D2C brand, or an SME, this blog will help you understand RBI’s guidelines to deal with the essentials.
Cross-border payment is a type of transaction that includes senders and receivers who are in different countries. Most funds in this payment flow for foreign trade (import/export), SaaS, software, freelance services, and remittances in India. These need mandatory currency conversion and compliance with RBI’s guidelines on AML/CFT.
The reason why RBI regulate cross-border payment aggregators and their transaction ecosystem is simple- to protect both the merchants and the financial system of the country. If the money is entering India, the central banking authority wants to make sure that:
Heavily driven by exports, online marketplaces, services, inbound remittances, and freelancing, India has one of the largest consumer markets for cross-border payment aggregators.
Remittances received by India in FY 2024-25 (RBI)
India’s services exports (RBI / Commerce Ministry, FY2025–26 estimate stats)
India’s total goods + services exports (FY2025–26) trade stats
A sharp surge in IT/ITeS, SaaS, consulting, and professional services.
Enhanced expansion and increased reach of Indian D2C brands and sellers overseas, either via their own online marketplaces or storefronts.
Global extension of gig and creator economy- freelance professionals, designers, developers, consultants, and advisors getting payments from all across the globe.
The Reserve Bank of India is constantly bringing in a cross-border payment transaction system into an auditable framework for better transparency and compliance.
Take a look at the following criteria before you apply for cross-border payment aggregators:
Understand the key differences between cross-border payment aggregators and domestic PAs.
All cross-border payment aggregators must have a net worth of INR 15 crore at the time of application for authorization to the Reserve Bank of India.
As a PA-CB, you will have to maintain at least INR 25 crore by the end of your third financial year and from that point onwards.
Your net worth can consist of paid-up equity capital, preference shares, free reserves, premium accounts, and capital reserves from asset sales.
In case you fail to maintain the Net Worth requirements throughout your business journey on an ongoing basis, you will have to end up either with license revocation or complete business shutdown by the RBI.
Currently, there are three categories of cross-border payment aggregators under the RBI guidelines, as follows:
This category helps with the cross-border flows, enabling companies to collect and repatriate funds coming into India from international clients to Indian exporters or freelancers.
The only import category that helps companies get payments for the imports of goods and services. The collection account holders maintain an import collection account (ICA).
A category that will help you facilitate payment of transactions for both eligible products and services under export and import. Needs separate accounts for ICA and ECA to prevent overlapping.
The most common business use cases via cross-border payment aggregators are:
Payment aggregators can facilitate currency conversions and foreign exchange hedging services to customers after proper due diligence.
PA-CBs can help companies with wallet-enabled payment services for customers. As a registered entity with the RBI, they can also tie up with wallet providers and facilitate wallet payments.
Payment aggregators-exporters can share proxy identifiers, like a QR code, to obtain payments from their customers without revealing their bank account details.
Import PA-CBs can provide credit services to their clients, so the latter can make instant payments to sellers and beneficiaries.
Exporter payment aggregators can integrate or embed the links for remittances into the business model. Payment link generation through a website or a chatbot.
You can accept payments by generating links on behalf of customers without a website. The link can be embedded or shared with the payee to get the amount.
PA-CBs can facilitate clients to get cross-border payments and their subscription management.
With the assistance of a letter of credit backing issued by the importer’s bank, you can provide an export bill discounting service to the sellers.
Facilitate tracking of receivables and reconciliation of the payments to your customers via virtual account management services as an export payment aggregator.
As an applicant for cross-border payment aggregators, you may encounter the following challenges during the application process for cross-border payment aggregator license:
Satisfying RBI’s criteria like fit & proper for directors/KMP, internal governance, tech, and operational mandates can be challenging for a lot of up-and-coming fintechs with less management experience and compliance readiness.
Most startups and smaller companies need additional capital to satisfy the RBI-mandated fund requirement before licensing, and also find it hard to maintain INR 25 crore on an ongoing basis by the third financial year after the authorization.
Cross-border payment aggregators have to follow multiple regulations, such as anti-money laundering, know your customer, CFT, internal governance, continuous transaction monitoring, risk mitigation system, and fraud management, which can be quite exhausting if they don’t have proper team assistance and specialized knowledge.
Constant KYC screening, due diligence processing, and verification of businesses, merchants, vendors, and risk categorization can be tedious and may lead to risks if suspicious accounts aren’t reported to the RBI and FIU-IND within the prescribed timelines.
Interpreting FEMA, RBI, and import/export guidelines and regulations can be complex for new companies that are trying to handle their core business and compliance requirements.
Before you get the authorization by the RBI, you will have to show proper secure payment infrastructure, data protection controls, access mechanism system, business continuity plans, and IS disaster recovery audits.
The central banking authority will check your documentation and payment mechanism substantially and extensively for your cross-border payment aggregator application, which can sometimes be lengthy and time-consuming.
New companies often find it difficult to establish banking partnerships and payment processing settlement mechanisms for operating as PA-CBs in India.
Without specialized professional assistance, it can be difficult to manage currency conversions, reconciliations, settlement timeline handling, and foreign exchange reporting.
After you get a PA-CB license from the RBI, you will have to conduct audits, coordinate with external auditors, prepare assessments, and conduct regulatory inspections.
With rapid changes in the legal-tech world and global trade, companies need to constantly update their processes and systems to align them with RBI, FEMA, DPDP, and FIU-IND requirements.
As a cross-border payment aggregator, you will have to comply with the customs, data protection, sanctions, and payment regulations of various countries, which can be overwhelming and confusing for newly registered fintechs.
Here’s a list of common businesses that heavily rely on cross-border payment aggregators:
In India, there are thousands of SaaS companies, sellers on e-commerce platforms, outsourcing firms, and tech companies that earn a major portion of their revenue internationally. The global payment system has increased significantly in the last decade due to an increase in online shopping and the enrollment of students in online courses.
With a sharp increase in cross-border payments, the Reserve Bank of India is determined to establish a strong framework for businesses and merchants facilitating international payment transactions. The evolving global import and export market with increased transaction flows emphasizes the importance of secure, safe, encrypted, and streamlined cross-border payment systems.
Currently, in the changing trajectory, the financial and compliance sector is eagerly waiting for new advancements in the RBI’s cross-border framework, which would not only foster a more protected environment but also a conducive environment for innovation and sustainable growth.
For cross-border payment aggregator license, talk to our experts at Enterslice.
A PA-CB is a financial service entity that enables businesses to securely accept and send payments to vendors, clients, and companies in international jurisdictions. It eliminates the use of separate bank accounts and eases the payment process, which helps overseas customers to pay you in their local currency, which you receive in yours. Payment checkouts are done through links or gateways on websites or mobile apps.Since payment aggregators are registered with the RBI, they are transparent with their compliance with cross-border transaction and billing rules.
The Reserve Bank of India’s framework on PA-CB, EXIM guidelines, and LRS schemes regulates and implements the procedures of the Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999 rules on cross-border import-export products and services.
As of 2026, all new applicants need to facilitate around INR 15 crore before application and at least INR 25 crore towards the end of their third financial year since receiving the authorization from the RBI.
Absolutely, under the Reserve Bank of India rules and regulations, all cross-border payment aggregators have a set limit of INR 25 lakh per unit of goods and services, including both inward and outward transactions. Also, you will have to conduct specific due diligence in case import transactions exceed INR 2.5 lakh per unit of a buyer.
An import collection is used to process payments for goods and services bought from foreign merchants, whereas an export collection account is used to obtain payments from global customers on behalf of said Indian merchantṣ.
Yes, all registered PA-CBs are required to register with the Financial Intelligence Unit- India (FIU-IND) to prevent money laundering, regularly report suspicious transactions, file mandatory reports, and conduct customer due diligence after enrollment with the FIU-IND.
Well, the key difference is that a domestic PA only processes transactions in Indian Rupee currency (INR), whereas cross-border payment aggregators facilitate multiple currencies, handling foreign exchange, and compliance with FEMA.
Fintech companies, international traders, cloud providers, streamlining services, Software-as-a-service, global merchants, e-commerce platforms, independent freelancers, and importers/exporters.
A typical checklist for getting your RBI authorization for a cross-border payment aggregator includes company’s registration certificate, MOA, AOA, PAN, KYC of all directors and promoters, GST, DIN & DSC of partners/directors, net worth verified certificate, audited financial statements, business address, balance sheet of the company, details of all bank accounts, AML, CFT, and KYC policies, PCI-DSS certificate, disaster recovery plan, and a business model with projections of at least three years.
The Reserve Bank of India’s liberalized remittance scheme is a facility that enables Indian residents to freely send up to USD 250,000 abroad in a financial year for allowed personal or capital transactions, such as college in foreign institutions, medical treatments, gifts, and investment in foreign stocks.
Of course, cross-border payments are fully legal in India, given that they are properly conducted through an authorized dealer bank or regulated payment aggregator. PA-CBs, being non-banking and fintech entities, are strictly required to get a license to process such transactions online through a secure and safe procedure.
You will need a dedicated collection account for import or export with an authorized dealer category-I (AD category- I) scheduled commercial banking authority. Want to know more about how to secure a banking facility after licensing with the RBI? Join Enterslice for a free discussion and find seamless solutions.
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