Bengaluru, Feb 11: EximPe, a cross-border payments infrastructure company, has received final Payment Aggregator – Cross Border (PA-CB) authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This marks a key milestone in its expansion of UPI-led cross-border payment capabilities. The authorisation enables the company to allow global merchants to seamlessly collect payments from Indian customers through UPI and other local payment methods, with settlement into offshore accounts in preferred currencies.
EximPe’s license is supported by operational scale and corridor depth. Prior to receiving PA-CB authorisation, EximPe operated as a technology service provider (TSP) to banking partners, facilitating over $500 million in bank-led cross-border trade payments across key Asia corridors. This operational scale and corridor depth formed the foundation for its transition into direct cross-border payment aggregation under the RBI’s PA-CB framework.
It has now become one of the select PA-CB license holders to secure authorization without a prior online payment gateway service provider or domestic PA license. With the PA-CB authorization, EximPe expands its market to enable global merchants to collect via UPI, cards, wallets and local bank transfers and netbanking – the rails that power the majority of India’s digital commerce. This improves authorization rates, reduces payment friction, and materially increases conversion for international businesses collecting from India. The company now aims to reach $1 billion in annualised cross-border UPI payments over the next 24 months, driven by increasing global merchant adoption across Asia corridors.
Commenting on the milestone, Arjun Zacharia, Founder & CEO of EximPe, said: “India’s digital payment rails are no longer domestic infrastructure – they are becoming globally relevant acceptance channels. With PA-CB authorisation, we are enabling international merchants to plug directly into India’s fastest-growing payment ecosystem without regulatory friction. We believe UPI-led cross-border collections will become a default requirement for global businesses targeting India over the next five years.”
In 2022, EximPe raised $5 million in a seed funding round anchored by Leo Capital. The round also saw participation from other investors, including Beta Lab, RB investments, Founder Bank Capital, iSeed Ventures, 2am VC, LetsVenture, and BoldCap.
Additionally, it included landmark Angel investors such as Ankit Nagori (Founder, CureFoods); Kunal Shah (Founder, Cred); Ashish Gupta (Managing Director,Helion Ventures); Rajesh Raju (Managing Director, Kalaari Capital); Axel Wehr (Partner, Firestartr.vc); Aprameya Radhakrishnan, and others.