How should an Indian startup receive payments from foreign customers?

Indian startups often land a foreign customer before an Indian one. For example, a Bengaluru deep-tech startup runs paid pilots for a Korean carmaker, an Ahmedabad climate-tech company sells carbon accounting software to mid-sized EU manufacturers, a Kochi health-tech startup annotates clinical data for a US research firm, and a Delhi startup with a Delaware parent bills that parent for all its engineering work.

Founders usually meet export rules for the first time through a bank asking for a purpose code or a customer asking for a tax form. This page covers what is specific to startups and points to the detailed guides. It is general information; confirm decisions with a chartered accountant (CA).

How do international clients pay Indian startups?

International clients pay Indian startups in the way their own procurement prefers: card or subscription billing for self-serve products, bank wires for pilots and enterprise contracts, and intra-group transfers where a foreign parent buys the Indian company's services.

• Card or subscription billing: self-serve products are paid through a payment gateway or cross-border payment aggregator (PA-CB).
• Invoices paid by wire: pilots and enterprise contracts are often paid by wire after vendor onboarding.
• Intra-group transfers: a foreign parent pays the Indian company under a services agreement.

Grants, prizes and investment are not payments for a service and are not export proceeds, so keep them out of export invoices.

Where does the money go between a foreign customer and an Indian startup's bank?

Money from a foreign customer moves through the customer's card or bank, the route the startup uses, a conversion into rupees, and then the startup's Indian bank account. The bank reports each receipt to the RBI under a purpose code from RBI's list under Circular No. 84.⁷

• Customer side: a card payment goes through a gateway or PA-CB; a wire goes from the customer's bank.
• Route: a PA-CB can process export transactions up to ₹25 lakh per transaction.¹²
• Conversion: published fees and FX conversion differ by provider and bank.
• Bank: rupees reach the startup's Indian bank, and the startup matches each receipt to its invoice and its EDF.⁹

Keep each receipt matched to its invoice from the start, since the export realisation rules apply invoice by invoice.¹⁰

What are the ways for Indian startups to receive international payments?

Indian startups receive international payments by card or subscription billing through a gateway or PA-CB, by bank wire, or by intra-group transfer from a foreign parent. The right route usually follows the size of the deal and who the customer is.

How does card or subscription billing work for an Indian startup?

Card or subscription billing collects payment from foreign customers at checkout through a payment gateway or cross-border payment aggregator, which settles rupees to the startup.

• How it works: the customer pays by card at a self-serve checkout or subscription page.
• Pros: suits self-serve products with many small payments.
• Cons: RBI caps PA-CB export transactions at ₹25 lakh per transaction.¹²
• Cost: published fees and FX conversion vary by provider.
• Settlement: depends on the provider.
• FIRA: check each provider's published terms.
• Ideal for: SaaS and digital products sold online.

Software sold over the internet to consumers abroad is usually an OIDAR supply; see the export test below.

How does a bank wire work for an Indian startup?

A bank wire moves the customer's payment from its bank to the startup's Indian bank account against an invoice.

• How it works: the customer pays the invoice by wire after vendor onboarding.
• Pros: no per-transaction PA-CB cap.
• Cons: the bank's fees and conversion rate apply, and enterprise onboarding takes time.
• Cost: bank fees and the bank's conversion rate.
• Settlement: depends on the banks involved.
• FIRA: ask your bank for an inward remittance advice for each receipt.
• Ideal for: pilots and enterprise contracts.

How does an intra-group transfer work for an Indian startup?

An intra-group transfer is a payment from a foreign parent or group company to the Indian startup under a services agreement.

• How it works: the Indian company invoices the parent, often at cost plus a markup.
• Pros: predictable monthly funding of the Indian team.
• Cons: transfer pricing applies, and the price must be at arm's length under section 161(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.¹⁴
• Cost: bank fees and the bank's conversion rate.
• Settlement: depends on the banks involved.
• FIRA: ask your bank for an inward remittance advice for each receipt.
• Ideal for: flipped structures where a foreign parent holds the customer contracts.

Which platforms are best for Indian startups?

No single platform is best for every Indian startup; the right one depends on how customers pay, deal size, and whether the provider onboards recently incorporated companies.

The platforms below are ordered by estimated cost on a $5,000 receipt from published fees, cheapest first, using the midpoint where a provider publishes a range; providers without enough published pricing follow, A to Z.^{17181920212224252627283031323435363839} The order is data only and is not a recommendation for Indian startups.

See the comparison hub for more detail on each provider.

How much INR do Indian startups receive on $2,000, $5,000 and $10,000?

The INR an Indian startup receives on $2,000, $5,000 and $10,000 depends on each platform's published fees and today's exchange rate.^{17181920212224252627283031323435363839} The table below calculates it live.

What should Indian startups look for beyond cost?

Indian startups should check onboarding rules for new companies and the documents each provider issues, as well as fees.

• KYC for new companies: new companies face stricter onboarding, so check each provider's KYC requirements for recently incorporated companies. See KYC documents for payment platforms.
• FIRA: check whether a FIRA is issued for each receipt.
• Purpose code: check how the provider handles purpose codes.
• Fees and FX: compare published fees and FX conversion.
• Settlement: check settlement time.
• Regulatory status: check the provider's regulatory status in India.

No provider is recommended here.

What compliance documents do Indian startups need?

Indian startups need an LUT once GST registered, export invoices with the rule 46 endorsement, the correct purpose code for each receipt, and an Export Declaration Form (EDF) for exports from 1 October 2026.⁴⁹¹⁵

When is a startup's foreign revenue an export of services?

A startup's foreign revenue is an export of services when all five conditions in section 2(6) of the IGST Act are met: the startup is in India, the customer is outside India, the place of supply is outside India, payment comes in convertible foreign exchange, and the two are not merely establishments of one person.¹ Exports are zero-rated under section 16.³

Which situations are traps for Indian startups?

Several startup structures change the export answer.

• Online sales to consumers abroad: software or digital content sold over the internet is usually an online information and database access or retrieval (OIDAR) service under section 2(17), and its place of supply is the customer's location under section 13(12).¹² Keep billing address and card-country evidence. See GST on SaaS sold to foreign customers.
• Flipped structures: if a foreign parent holds the customer contracts and the Indian company builds the product, the Indian company's customer is the parent. That can be an export under CBIC Circular No. 161/17/2021-GST, but billing a mere foreign branch cannot.¹⁵
• Pilots with an Indian arm: if the purchase order comes from the customer's Indian entity, the supply is domestic.
• Grants, prizes and investment: these are not payments for a service and are not export proceeds.

What GST steps apply to an Indian startup exporting services?

Once registered, a startup files an LUT before the first export invoice and uses the rule 46 endorsement; under rule 96A, IGST becomes payable if an LUT invoice is unpaid after one year from the invoice date, or after the period allowed under FEMA including any RBI-permitted extension if that is later.⁴¹⁵ Registration is optional while aggregate turnover stays within ₹20 lakh (₹10 lakh in special category States).⁶ See GST registration for exporters and how to file an LUT.

Which RBI purpose codes fit startup revenue?

Startups use the code that matches what they sell, from RBI's list under Circular No. 84.⁷⁸

Descriptions are as reproduced by DBS Bank India.⁸ RBI Circular No. 20 superseded the SOFTEX circulars from 1 October 2026,¹¹ and the P0802 and P0807 descriptions have not been revised, so which one your bank now applies to software is unclear. See P0802 vs P0807, purpose code for SaaS and the purpose code finder.

What does the EDF mean for an Indian startup?

An Indian startup files an Export Declaration Form (EDF) for its exports from 1 October 2026, whatever its size.⁹ Software startups are covered by the definition of software in the 2026 Regulations, "any computer programme, database, drawing, design, audio/video signals, any information by whatever name called" on a non-physical medium.⁹

Each invoice must be realised within nine months of its date, or twelve months if invoiced in rupees.¹⁰ Long pilots with payment on completion need careful invoicing; see EDF for service exporters and the export realisation period.

Should an Indian startup register with STPI or set up in an SEZ?

STPI and SEZ registration are optional for startups and come with export obligations. STPI is a specified authority for software EDFs, and the SEZ Development Commissioner for SEZ units.⁹ See STPI registration for software exporters and export to SEZ units. The first-time exporter checklist covers the rest of the set-up.

What tax applies to international income for Indian startups?

An Indian startup incorporated as a company or LLP is taxed on actual profits, because the presumptive scheme in section 58 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 is limited to resident individuals and firms other than LLPs.¹³ A founder trading as a sole proprietor before incorporating can use it within the receipts limits, which is one reason the timing of incorporation matters.¹³

When does transfer pricing apply to an Indian startup?

Transfer pricing applies as soon as the Indian company transacts with a foreign group entity. Section 161(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 requires income from an international transaction to be determined having regard to the arm's length price.¹⁴

For example, a Delhi subsidiary billing its Delaware parent cost plus a markup needs documentation that supports the markup. See transfer pricing for Indian subsidiaries and receiving payment from a foreign parent.

US customers often ask for Form W-8BEN-E before paying.