The UK-headquartered Winvesta, a neobank building cross-border banking and wealth management, has launched foreign payment collections for Indian exporters.
The service comes as an extension of the existing multi-currency banking facility for Indian individuals. With this launch, Winvesta is providing exporters with an alternative to payment gateways that cost up to 8 percent of the amount collected, it said in a press statement.
Swastik Nigam, Founder and CEO, Winvesta, said, “We are extremely excited to launch foreign collection accounts for businesses. Many Indian businesses get a raw deal. The collections are expensive, delayed and opaque. Much of that money never made it to Indian shores. With this launch, we change that. India’s cross-border flows are over $800 billion annually, and we want to make it easier for MSMEs to bring home more of what they earn overseas.”
SME exporters’ share in overall exports from India has been rapidly growing and is now close to 50 percent of total exports. This includes both service and goods exports. Improving logistics and easy e-commerce platforms have helped Indian businesses expand globally rapidly. At the same time, borderless marketing tools and collaborative platforms have led to a boom in digital exports from the service industry.
Prateek Jain, President, Winvesta, said, “Winvesta’s mission is to simplify cross-border finances for everyone, whether individuals looking to invest overseas or an exporter looking to get paid by a foreign buyer. With India crossing the $400 bn mark in exports for the first time in a fiscal year, it not only marked a key milestone but also helped us realise the potential for such an offering at this point in time.”
Winvesta collection accounts have a one-time refundable setup fee of Rs. 499 ($25 for corporates), with no monthly fees. There are no fees to collect money in the accounts or to withdraw funds to an Indian bank. Foreign funds are converted to INR at a very low spread of 1.50 percent from interbank rates. With significant volumes, these rates can fall further, it added.
