Beyond UPI: Fintechs face cross-border challenge to go global

Addressing cross-border payment challenges — such as prioritising key transaction corridors, meeting compliance requirements in those markets, and developing strong alternatives to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT)-will be critical for Indian financial technology (fintech) companies seeking to scale globally, executives said at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025.

- BS REPORTER

The push by Indian fintechs to expand internationally comes amid thin payment margins in the domestic market, where most digital transactions are dominated by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India's real-time payments system.

Executives said the confidence to scale payments businesses globally stems from a more mature technology stack among Indian players, with the flexibility to adapt to local rules, data localisation requirements, and compliance norms in each market.

Achieving meaningful scale in cross-border payments, however, will require overcoming challenges around risk, compliance, taxation, speed, and cost, they added. They were speaking with Ajinkya Kawale of Business Standard during a panel discussion titled 'Post-UPI, Indian Payment Players Look to Foreign Shores'.

"Very often, we compare and say there is more money to be made overseas. We're used to very thin margins thanks to our large population. Anything higher than that [domestic payment margins] seems very appealing to us," said Arif Khan, chief innovation officer, Razorpay.