Payments

Stripe, PayPal or Wise: What GST and the RBI's Video Production Purpose Code Mean for Getting Paid Abroad

Author:: Editorial team, serviceexportguide.com
Verified by:: Editorial team
Published: 31 October 2026
Last modified: 31 October 2026
Fees checked on: 28 October 2026
Reading time: 10 min read

Short answer

Video production for a client outside India is an export of services when all five section 2(6) conditions hold.¹² RBI's code P1101 covers motion picture and video tape production.⁹¹⁰ Stripe allows one purpose code per account.⁴⁰ PayPal sets a default code at account setup.³⁹ Wise emails an e-FIRC per transfer.⁴⁹ From 1 October 2026, each export invoice needs an EDF.¹

Applies to	Rules involved	Platforms compared	Last verified
Video production agencies, studios and freelance producers in India billing clients abroad¹²	IGST Act sections 2(6), 13 and 16, rule 96A, FEMA Export and Import Regulations 2026 regulations 3 and 5, purpose code P1101¹⁹¹²¹³¹⁴¹⁶	Stripe, PayPal, Wise, plus Razorpay, Karbon Business and Skydo on published cost²²²⁷³⁰³⁵⁴²⁴⁹	31 October 2026

Invoice amountCurrencyHow the client pays

1,000 USD = ₹94,243 at the reference rate for 13 November 2026 (European Central Bank data).

Estimated rupees received, on published fees

Sorted by estimated rupees received, highest first. Only providers that publish both their fee and their conversion markup for this currency and method can be estimated.

#	Provider and route	Best for	Fee (+GST)	Markup	You receive	Cost
1	Karbon BusinessLowest estimated costBank transfer to a Karbon virtual USD account	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts	₹942plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹93,131 to ₹93,301	1.00 to 1.18%
2	RazorpayMoneySaver Export Account: bank transfer to virtual account details (Standard plan)	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone	₹1,000plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹93,063 to ₹93,243	1.06 to 1.25%
3	WinvestaGlobal Collections Account, standard plan (up to 2,000 a month per currency)	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee	₹1,435	0%	₹92,809	1.52%
4	SkydoPayment link (InstaLinks) paid by ACH debit	Local bank transfers from major markets	₹1,885plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹92,019 to ₹92,358	2.00 to 2.36%
5	PayoneerLocal bank transfer to Payoneer receiving account details	Marketplace payouts such as Amazon or Upwork	₹0no GST stated	1 to 4%	₹90,473 to ₹93,301	1.00 to 4.00%
6	PayPalInternational commercial transaction received into a PayPal account (PayPal checkout or invoice)	Clients paying by card or PayPal balance	₹4,175no GST stated	3 to 4%	₹86,465 to ₹87,366	7.30 to 8.25%

Not estimated because pricing is not fully published: Cashfree Payments, Dodo Payments, PingPong, Stripe, Tazapay, TransFi, Wise.

Where a provider says GST applies to its fee but not at what rate, the range runs from no GST to 18%, the rate Skydo, Stripe and Winvesta state on their pages. Estimates use each provider's published fee, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charge, checked 2026-10-28, against the reference rate. They exclude charges taken by intermediary banks and your own bank, and the rate a provider actually applies at the time of conversion. Check the provider's pricing page before you choose. The order is calculated only from these published numbers; no provider can pay to change its position, and there are no affiliate links.

Video production agencies in India shoot, animate and edit for brands, broadcasters and creators abroad, often with an advance before the shoot and a balance on delivery. Each foreign invoice is usually an export of services, and the RBI purpose code on the receipt should describe audio-visual work.⁹¹² This page compares Stripe, PayPal and Wise for that work. Freelance editors should also read international payments for video editors.

How do Stripe, PayPal and Wise compare for video production agencies?

For video production agencies, Stripe takes card payments at 3% to 4.3% on an invite-only cross-border basis, PayPal takes cards and PayPal balances at 4.40% plus a fixed fee, and Wise takes bank transfers to local account details as an RBI-authorised PA-CB.⁶³⁵⁴²⁴⁶⁴⁹ The table adds Razorpay, Karbon Business and Skydo, the three lowest estimated costs on a USD 2,000 receipt from published fees.²²²⁷³⁰ Rows run cheapest first on that estimate, then providers without a full published estimate, A to Z.

Platform	Best for	Fee	FX markup	Settlement	FIRA	RBI PA-CB status	Source
Razorpay	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone	1% per MoneySaver bank transfer, flat ₹1,000 below ₹1,00,000; international cards up to 3%	0% on MoneySaver bank transfers	T+1 for bank transfers	FIRS emailed within 24 hours of settlement	Authorised PA-CB, inward and outward	⁶²¹²²²³²⁴
Karbon Business	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts	1% transaction fee (PayPal alternative page)	0% (freelancer page); 0.5% to 1.0% (comparison page)	24 to 48 hours	FIRA per transaction from a partner bank	Not on the RBI list itself; its terms run export receipts under a partner the RBI lists as a PA-CB	⁶²⁶²⁷²⁸
Skydo	Local bank transfers from major markets	USD 19 up to USD 2,000; USD 29 from USD 2,001 to USD 10,000; 0.3% above; plus GST	0% markup on the mid-market rate (product page); retail rate set by Skydo or its partner banks (terms)	Within 24 hours (product page); T+1 to T+3 business days (terms)	Free FIRA on every payment	Authorised PA-CB, inward and outward, 8 January 2026	⁶²⁹³⁰³¹⁵³
PayPal	Clients paying by card or PayPal balance	4.40% plus a fixed fee (for example USD 0.30) per international commercial transaction	3.0% or 4.00% above the base exchange rate	Allow up to 5 business days to the bank	Free weekly digital FIRA	In-principle authorisation; RBI lists it as an existing PA-CB that can operate	⁷³⁵³⁶³⁷³⁸
Stripe	Card checkout and subscriptions	3% Visa or Mastercard issued abroad; 3.5% American Express; 4.3% non-INR presentment	Additional 2% if conversion is required	Daily payouts include card payments from five business days earlier	Standard Chartered payment advice; FIRC from your own bank	Authorised PA-O; PA-CB application withdrawn; cross-border service is invite-only	⁶⁷⁴⁰⁴¹⁴²⁴³⁴⁴⁴⁵⁴⁶
Wise	Bank transfers to local account details	Equivalent of 2 USD per transfer to the INR account (help article); free e-FIRC (receive pricing page)	Mid-market rate plus a fee; no INR percentage published	1 to 2 days to the Indian bank	e-FIRC per transfer within 3 working days	Authorised PA-CB, inward, 12 March 2026	⁶⁴⁹⁵⁰

Advances: P0103 reads "Advance receipts against export contracts, which will be covered later by GR/PP/SOFTEX/SDF", so ask your bank which code it uses for an advance before a shoot.⁹
Stripe limit: Stripe allows up to ₹25 lakh per export transaction for sole proprietorships, LLPs and companies.⁴⁷
Card acceptance: Wise does not offer card acceptance to India-based businesses.⁵²

Each provider's figures are taken from its own published pages.

Which RBI and GST rules apply to video production agencies?

The rules that apply to video production agencies are the export test, place of supply and zero-rating in the IGST Act, the LUT and rule 96A, and the EDF and nine-month realisation rules in the FEMA Export and Import Regulations, 2026.¹¹²¹³¹⁴¹⁶

Rule	Best for (who it applies to)	Plain meaning	Source
IGST Act, section 2(6)	Anyone billing a client outside India	A supply is an export of services only if all five conditions hold: supplier in India, recipient outside India, place of supply outside India, payment in convertible foreign exchange (or rupees where RBI permits), and the two are not establishments of one person	¹²
IGST Act, section 13(2) and 13(3)	Agencies that shoot in India for foreign clients	Remote production follows the recipient's location; services on goods the client makes physically available, or needing an individual recipient's physical presence, follow the place of performance	¹⁴
IGST Act, section 16	GST-registered exporters	Exports are zero-rated; supply under bond or LUT without IGST, with refund of unutilised input tax credit	¹³
FORM GST RFD-11 (LUT)	Registered exporters invoicing without IGST	File the Letter of Undertaking on the GST portal for each financial year; it is deemed accepted when the ARN is generated	¹⁷
CGST Rules, rule 96A(1)(b)	Exporters under an LUT	If payment is not received within one year of the invoice, or the FEMA period with any extension if later, IGST with interest is payable within 15 days	¹⁶
Notification No. 10/2017-Integrated Tax	Small exporters of services	Inter-State suppliers of taxable services with aggregate turnover up to ₹20 lakh (₹10 lakh in special category States) need not register	¹⁹
FEMA Export and Import Regulations 2026, regulation 3(2)	Every exporter of services from 1 October 2026	File an Export Declaration Form (EDF) within 30 days from the end of the invoice month; non-software exporters may file on or before the date of payment	¹
Regulation 5, as amended on 22 September 2026	Every exporter of services	Realise the full value within nine months of the invoice date, or twelve months if invoiced or settled in rupees	¹²
RBI Payment Aggregator Master Direction, paragraph 11(d) and 11(h)	Exporters paid through a PA-CB	Each PA-CB transaction is capped at ₹25 lakh, and the PA-CB gives your AD bank the documents to close the EDPMS entry	⁵

For example, a Hyderabad animation studio: produces an explainer video for a San Francisco SaaS company, delivered online and paid in US dollars. The client is in the US and pays in foreign exchange, so the invoice can go out under an LUT without IGST if the other conditions hold.¹²¹³
On-location shoots: if a German brand's team attends a shoot in Goa, or sends products to be filmed, section 13(3) may put the place of supply where the shoot happens, so check it before treating the invoice as an export.¹⁴

Which purpose code applies to video production agencies?

Video production agencies usually report receipts under P1101, with P1103 for broadcast production, P1007 for advertising films and P0902 for licensing footage they own.⁹¹⁰ RBI introduced the current receipt codes through A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 84 of 29 February 2012.⁸

Code	Best for (transaction type)	Official RBI description	Source
P1101	Brand films, explainers, music videos, post-production	Audio-visual and related services like Motion picture and video tape production, distribution and projection services.	⁹¹⁰
P1103	Shows and segments made for broadcasters	Radio and television production, distribution and transmission services	⁹¹⁰
P1007	Ad films and campaign video	Advertising, trade fair service	⁹¹⁰
P0902	Licensing stock footage or films you own	Receipts for use, through licensing arrangements, of produced originals or prototypes (such as manuscripts and films), patents, copyrights, trademarks, industrial processes, franchises etc.	⁹¹⁰

P0802 is the software consultancy code, so it does not describe video work.⁹ The purpose code finder helps with mixed invoices.

Each platform records the purpose code in its own way, so set it before the first payment arrives.³⁴³⁹⁴⁰⁵¹

PayPal: you pick one purpose code during account setup, and it becomes the default for payments before you can withdraw to an Indian bank.³⁹
Payoneer: you choose the code in profile settings; it applies to every payment, is printed on each FIRA and cannot be changed for payments already processed.³⁴
Stripe: one transaction purpose code per account, chosen from a fixed dropdown list; codes outside the list are not supported.⁴⁰
Wise: the purpose code is entered with the business sector when you set up the business profile.⁵¹
Razorpay: the code chosen at international activation applies to all international transactions on the account.²⁵
Skydo: Skydo says it supports 37 purpose codes and tags the code on each remittance.³²

Which option is cheapest at $500, $2,000 and $5,000?

On published fees, the cheapest option for video production agencies at $500, $2,000 and $5,000 is usually a bank-transfer route with a flat or 1% fee, while card and PayPal checkouts cost the most at every size.²²³⁰³⁵⁴² The live table below works out the INR you receive from each provider's published fees at today's rate.

Platform	Best for	INR on USD 2,000	INR on USD 5,000	INR on USD 10,000	Cost on USD 5,000
SkydoMost INRTransfer to Skydo local account details or international SWIFT account	Local bank transfers from major markets	₹1,86,373	₹4,67,991	₹9,39,206	0.68%
Karbon BusinessBank transfer to a Karbon virtual USD account	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts	₹1,86,262 to ₹1,86,601	₹4,65,655 to ₹4,66,503	₹9,31,311 to ₹9,33,007	1.00 to 1.18%
RazorpayMoneySaver Export Account: bank transfer to virtual account details (Standard plan)	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone	₹1,86,262 to ₹1,86,601	₹4,65,655 to ₹4,66,503	₹9,31,311 to ₹9,33,007	1.00 to 1.18%
PayPalInternational commercial transaction received into a PayPal account (PayPal checkout or invoice)	Clients paying by card or PayPal balance	₹1,72,958 to ₹1,74,760	₹4,32,436 to ₹4,36,940	₹8,64,899 to ₹8,73,908	7.27 to 8.23%

Not estimated because pricing for USD is not fully published: Stripe, Wise.

Ranked by INR received on USD 5,000. Reference rate: European Central Bank data for 13 November 2026. Fees, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charges as published by each provider, checked 28 October 2026. Ranges appear where a provider publishes a range or does not state its GST rate. Intermediary bank charges are excluded. See the methodology.

For example, Skydo's flat USD 19 fee is 3.8% of a $500 invoice but 0.95% of a $2,000 invoice, before GST.³⁰ Razorpay's MoneySaver fee is 1% per bank transfer, with a flat ₹1,000 below ₹1,00,000, so a $500 receipt pays the flat fee.²² PayPal's 4.40% plus USD 0.30 is about 4.42% of a $2,000 invoice, before its 3.0% or 4.00% conversion spread.³⁵

Card payments: Stripe charges 3% for Visa or Mastercard cards issued abroad, plus 2% if conversion is needed.⁴²⁴³
Withdrawal to INR: Payoneer charges 1% to 4% of the amount when a foreign balance is withdrawn to an Indian bank in INR.³³
Conversion: Wise converts at the mid-market rate plus a fee and does not publish a fixed percentage for INR.⁵⁰

The platform cost comparison lets you test your own invoice sizes.

What documents follow each payment?

Each payment to video production agencies should leave four records: a FIRA or FIRC from the receiving bank or platform, a self-certified e-BRC on the DGFT portal, the EDF filed with your bank, and the LUT that covers the invoice.¹¹¹¹⁷

Document	Best for	What it is	Who issues it	Source
FIRA or FIRC	Proving each foreign receipt	Advice or certificate of the inward remittance, with the purpose code	Your bank, or the platform's partner bank (PayPal, Payoneer, Wise, Razorpay and Skydo publish their own process)	²⁴³¹³⁴³⁷⁴⁹
e-BRC	GST refunds and export benefit claims	Electronic bank realisation certificate, self-generated by the exporter on the DGFT portal from the bank's IRM data	Exporter, on the DGFT portal	¹¹
EDF	FEMA reporting of each service export	Export Declaration Form, due within 30 days from the end of the invoice month	Exporter files; the AD bank enters it in EDPMS within five working days	¹
LUT	Zero-rated invoices without IGST	Letter of Undertaking in FORM GST RFD-11, one per financial year	Exporter files on the GST portal	¹⁷
Export invoice	Every foreign client	Must carry the rule 46 endorsement for supply under LUT and the recipient's name, address and country	Exporter	¹⁸

Stripe receipts: Stripe does not issue a FIRC; Standard Chartered emails a payment advice, which you take to your own bank to request one.⁴⁵
Platform receipts and EDPMS: a PA-CB must give your AD bank the documents needed to close the EDPMS entry.⁵

See FIRC vs FIRA vs e-BRC for how the three differ.

What changes in 2026 for video production agencies?

The main changes in 2026 for video production agencies are the new FEMA export rules with an EDF for every invoice, a nine-month realisation period and the Income-tax Act, 2025.¹²²⁰

New FEMA export rules: the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 came into force on 1 October 2026 and replaced the 2015 Regulations.¹
EDF for every service export: from 1 October 2026 every exporter of services, not only software exporters, files an EDF with the AD bank.¹
Nine-month realisation: the period is nine months from the invoice date, after a 15-month period that applied from 14 November 2025 was reversed from 5 June 2026.²³⁴
PA-CB cap: each payment through a cross-border payment aggregator is capped at ₹25 lakh, inward or outward.⁵
Income-tax Act, 2025: in force from 1 April 2026; tax year 2026-27 runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.²⁰
GST Council recommendation: the 57th GST Council meeting on 8 October 2026 recommended omitting condition (v) of section 2(6); this needs a change in law and is not in force.¹⁵

How these rules apply depends on where you shoot and how the contract is written, so confirm the details with a chartered accountant. The export realisation deadline calculator shows each invoice's due date.

How did we verify this?

We checked this page against the sources below on 31 October 2026. Provider fees, conversion markups and RBI payment aggregator (PA-CB) status were checked on 28 October 2026. Rupee amounts use European Central Bank reference rates for 13 November 2026. Read our methodology or report an error.

Frequently asked questions

What is the purpose code for video production services from India?+

The RBI code for video production is P1101, Audio-visual and related services like Motion picture and video tape production, distribution and projection services.⁹¹⁰ Radio and television production fits P1103, and video made for an advertising campaign may fit P1007, Advertising, trade fair service.⁹¹⁰

Is P0802 the right purpose code for a video production agency?+

P0802 reads Software consultancy/implementation (other than those covered in SOFTEX form), so it describes software work rather than video.⁹¹⁰ A video production agency usually reports under P1101.⁹¹⁰ If a bank recorded the wrong code on a receipt, ask the bank how it corrects its reporting.

Do I charge GST when shooting a video in India for a foreign brand?+

It depends on where the service is performed. Section 13(3) of the IGST Act sets the place of supply for services on goods made physically available and for services needing the recipient's physical presence at the place of performance.¹⁴ Remote editing and production fall under the default recipient-location rule in section 13(2).¹⁴ Check shoot contracts with a CA.

Can a foreign client pay my production house by card through Stripe?+

Stripe's cross-border service for Indian businesses is invite-only, after Stripe withdrew its PA-CB application.⁴⁶ Where enabled, Stripe charges 3% for Visa and Mastercard cards issued outside India, 4.3% for non-INR presentment and 2% more if conversion is needed.⁴²⁴³ GST at 18% is charged on Stripe fees.⁴⁸

How do I get a FIRC for Stripe payments for video projects?+

Stripe does not issue a FIRC itself. Standard Chartered Bank emails a payment advice on the day an export payout is processed, and Stripe says to present it to your own bank to request a FIRC.⁴⁵ Your bank's charge for issuing the FIRC is not published by Stripe.

Can a video agency receive a large production fee through PayPal?+

PayPal's India user agreement lists export payments for a product or service worth more than USD 10,000 per transaction as a restricted activity.³⁶ Each PA-CB transaction is also capped at ₹25 lakh, so large production budgets are often paid by bank transfer instead.⁵

How long does a foreign client have to pay a video production invoice?+

Under regulation 5 of the 2026 FEMA export rules, as amended on 22 September 2026, the full value must be realised within nine months of the invoice date, or twelve months if invoiced in rupees.¹² Your AD bank can extend the period if you give reasons.¹

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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