Payments

What KYC documents do payment platforms ask Indian exporters for?

Author:: Editorial team, serviceexportguide.com
Verified by:: Editorial team
Published: 28 October 2026
Last modified: 30 October 2026
Reading time: 7 min read

Short answer

Payment platforms in India follow RBI's KYC Master Direction.¹ An individual gives an officially valid document, such as Aadhaar or a passport, plus PAN or Form 60.¹ A business adds entity documents and details of beneficial owners above 10%.¹ Cross-border payment aggregators may use a simpler route where annual export turnover is up to ₹5 lakh.²

Applies to	Governed by	Deadline	Penalty	Last verified
Individuals and businesses onboarding with payment platforms	Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002, section 11A; RBI KYC Master Direction, 2016¹³	Periodic KYC update every two, eight or ten years, by risk category¹	Operations temporarily ceased if PAN or Form 60 is not given by the notified date¹	28 October 2026
Merchants of cross-border payment aggregators	RBI Master Direction on Regulation of Payment Aggregator, paragraphs 13 and 15²	Not applicable	Not applicable	28 October 2026

Every international payment platform in India asks for Know Your Customer (KYC) documents before it pays out, and incomplete KYC is one of the most common reasons money sits on hold. The documents depend on whether you sign up as an individual freelancer, a sole proprietor, a partnership, an LLP or a company. This guide sets out what RBI's rules require and what each platform publishes, so a copywriter, an architect's practice or a software company can prepare the right set in one go.

What are KYC documents for payment platforms?

KYC documents for payment platforms are the identity and business records a platform must collect to verify who you are before handling your money. Section 11A of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 requires every reporting entity to verify the identity of its clients and beneficial owners.³ RBI's KYC Master Direction applies these duties to all regulated entities, which include payment system providers and prepaid payment instrument issuers.¹

Cross-border payment aggregators: the RBI Master Direction on Regulation of Payment Aggregator dated 15 September 2025 requires customer due diligence on each merchant under the KYC Master Direction, using the Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) where possible with your consent, plus background and antecedent checks.²
Video KYC: regulated entities may use the Video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP), with liveness checks and geo-tagging, to onboard individuals, proprietors and authorised signatories.¹ Payment aggregators may use assisted V-CIP under the same rules.²

What does RBI's KYC rule require from an individual?

For an individual, the KYC Master Direction requires an officially valid document (OVD) or the Aadhaar-based equivalent, and the Permanent Account Number (PAN) or Form 60.¹ The OVD list includes the passport, driving licence, proof of possession of an Aadhaar number, voter identity card, NREGA job card and a letter from the National Population Register.¹

Who needs which KYC documents for a payment platform?

Each business type adds entity documents to the KYC of the people who own or run it.¹

Entity	Documents under the KYC Master Direction	Best for
Individual	An OVD or Aadhaar-based equivalent, plus PAN or Form 60¹	Freelancers signing up in their own name
Sole proprietorship	KYC of the proprietor, plus any two proofs of business activity, such as a registration certificate (including Udyam), tax returns or utility bills; one may be accepted with contact point verification (paras 27 to 29)¹	Freelancers trading under a business name
Partnership firm	Registration certificate, partnership deed, firm PAN, names of all partners, registered office address, and documents of beneficial owners and attorney holders (para 31)¹	Small agencies and professional firms
Company	Certificate of incorporation, Memorandum and Articles of Association, company PAN, board resolution and power of attorney, beneficial owner documents, senior management names and registered office (para 30)¹	Software companies and larger agencies

A beneficial owner of a company is a natural person holding more than 10% of shares, capital or profits, or exercising control by other means; for a partnership firm it is more than 10% of capital or profits.¹ LLPs are not named separately in the passages we read, so expect each platform to set its own LLP list.

How do you complete KYC for a payment platform?

You complete KYC by preparing personal and entity documents that match each other, linking your own bank account and finishing any video KYC.¹²⁴

Choose your entity type: individual, sole proprietor, partnership, LLP or company.
Gather an OVD such as Aadhaar or a passport, plus PAN or Form 60.¹
For a business, gather registration proofs, the business PAN, constitutional documents and beneficial owner details.¹
Use the same spelling of your name and business name everywhere.
Link a bank account in your own name, or in the business's name for a firm or company.²
Finish any video KYC with your original documents; PayPal matches your face against your physical PAN card.⁴

What thresholds and update periods apply to payment platform KYC?

Payment platform KYC has a simpler route for small merchants and must be updated every two, eight or ten years depending on risk.¹²

Item	Rule	Source
Simplified merchant KYC	PAN or Form 60, contact point verification and one certified OVD of the proprietor, where annual turnover is up to ₹40 lakh or annual export turnover is up to ₹5 lakh	PA Master Direction²
Periodic update, high risk	At least once every two years	KYC Master Direction¹
Periodic update, medium risk	Every eight years	KYC Master Direction¹
Periodic update, low risk	Every ten years	KYC Master Direction¹
Beneficial owner threshold	More than 10% of shares, capital or profits	KYC Master Direction¹

What happens if payment platform KYC fails or lapses?

If KYC fails, the platform holds your onboarding or payouts until names, documents and bank accounts match; if an existing customer does not provide PAN or Form 60 by the date the Government notifies, the regulated entity must temporarily cease operations in the account until it is provided, after giving notice and a chance to be heard.¹

Name mismatch: PayPal asks that names match your government-issued documents and rejects photocopies of the PAN card.⁴
Bank account mismatch: Wise requires the bank account name to match your Wise profile name, and the business name for non-freelancer accounts.¹¹
Someone else's account: the RBI Master Direction requires payment aggregators to credit funds only to the merchant's own bank account.²

See payout on hold if a platform has paused your money.

Which payment platforms publish their KYC requirements?

Most platforms publish their own KYC list, and the detail varies a great deal.⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²¹³ Providers are listed in the order the site's INR tables use: estimated cost on published fees, cheapest first, then providers without full published pricing, A to Z.

Platform	Who can sign up, and what it asks for	Best for
Razorpay (MoneySaver)	Individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, private limited, public limited and LLP, with a completed Razorpay KYC and an eligible export purpose code⁶	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone⁶
Winvesta	Freelancers: PAN, Aadhaar, a marketing channel link and bank details. Businesses: the same plus business registration details⁹¹⁰	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee¹⁴¹⁵
Payoneer	Choose business or freelancing; verify with a government ID such as Aadhaar or PAN and proof of an Indian bank account; applicants must be over 18⁵	Marketplace payouts such as Amazon or Upwork¹⁶
PayPal	Individual business account: Aadhaar or another OVD and the original PAN card. Sole proprietor: one of GSTIN, IEC, Udyam/Udyog or shop licence, plus the owner's documents. LLP: LLPIN, business PAN, partnership deed. Private limited: CIN, business PAN, MoA/AoA and board resolution. All finish with video KYC⁴	Clients paying by card or PayPal balance¹⁷
Airwallex	India-registered companies, LLPs, proprietorships, partnerships and MSMEs; proprietorships and partnerships need a GST Registration Certificate¹²	Registered businesses paid by bank transfer¹²¹⁸
PayU	Checklist covers individuals, proprietorships, partnerships, LLPs and companies; international payments are enabled separately¹³	Card or PayPal checkout with INR settlement¹⁹
Stripe	International payments for sole proprietorships, LLPs and companies only, by invite⁷	Card checkout and subscriptions⁷²⁰
Tazapay	For India lists GST, certificate of incorporation, IEC, Udyam registration, MGT 7 for private limited companies, and MOA and AOA⁸	Companies taking card or local payment methods²¹⁸
Wise (Business)	Sole trader: personal PAN and an INR account in your own name. Proprietorship: GSTIN or IEC plus a second document. Company or LLP: CIN or LLPIN, business PAN, constitutional documents, beneficial owners. Video KYC of Aadhaar and PAN for all¹¹	Bank transfers to local account details²²

Requirements differ by platform and change over time, so check the platform's current page before you apply. See how to choose an international payment platform.

What are the common mistakes with KYC for payment platforms?

The common mistakes are mismatched names, the wrong bank account and documents that are out of date with the issuing authority.⁴¹¹

Different spellings: use the same spelling of your name and business name everywhere.⁴
Wrong account holder: link a bank account in your own name, or in the business's name for a firm or company.¹¹
Stale records: keep PAN, Aadhaar and GSTIN details up to date with the issuing authority.
Missing LLP or company papers: have beneficial owner details and a board resolution or authorisation letter ready.¹
Not updating after changes: platforms ask for fresh documents when a freelancer registers as a proprietorship or a company adds a director.

See AML checks on international payments for the monitoring side.

How did we verify this?

We checked this page against the sources below on 30 October 2026. Read our methodology or report an error.

Frequently asked questions

Can a freelancer complete payment platform KYC without a company or GST registration?+

Some payment platforms accept individual freelancers without a company or GST registration. Wise's sole trader route asks for a personal PAN, an INR bank account in your own name and video KYC of Aadhaar and PAN, and Winvesta's freelancer route asks for PAN, Aadhaar, a marketing channel link and bank details.⁹¹¹

Is a GST certificate mandatory for payment platform KYC?+

A GST certificate is not always mandatory for payment platform KYC. Wise and PayPal accept GSTIN as one of several business proofs for a sole proprietorship, while Airwallex's India list requires a GST Registration Certificate for proprietorships and partnerships.⁴¹¹¹² Check the platform's list for your entity type before applying.

Why does PayPal ask for the original PAN card during KYC?+

PayPal's KYC page says a printout or photocopy of the PAN card is not accepted, and its video KYC matches your face against your physical PAN card.⁴ Keep the original PAN card with you during the video call, and make sure the name on it matches your PayPal account.

How often does payment platform KYC have to be updated?+

RBI's KYC Master Direction requires periodic updation at least every two years for high-risk customers, every eight years for medium-risk customers and every ten years for low-risk customers.¹ Platforms also ask for fresh documents when your business changes, such as registering a proprietorship or adding a director.

What is the simplified KYC for small exporters on PA-CB platforms?+

Where a merchant's annual export turnover is up to ₹5 lakh, a cross-border payment aggregator may verify PAN or Form 60, do a contact point verification and take one certified officially valid document of the proprietor, under the RBI Master Direction on Regulation of Payment Aggregator.² Full entity documents are then not needed.

Can a payment aggregator pay out to someone else's bank account?+

A payment aggregator cannot pay out to someone else's bank account. The RBI Master Direction on Regulation of Payment Aggregator requires payment aggregators to credit funds only to the merchant's own bank account.² A freelancer should link an account in their own name, and a firm or company an account in its name.

This page is general information for Indian service exporters, not tax or legal advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your facts, so confirm with a chartered accountant before acting.

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