Wise Payments Ltd., a London-based fintech firm, plans to
resume accepting new customers in India for overseas remittances. This move
follows a recent pause to upgrade its infrastructure. The company aims to
capture a larger share of India’s $32 billion remittance market.

Resuming Client Onboarding

Wise halted new customer registrations while it revamped its
systems after receiving a license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This
license allows customers to send higher amounts of money abroad. Shrawan
Saraogi, Asia Pacific head of expansion at Wise, stated that the company
intends to restart onboarding new clients in the coming months.

In India, major banks such as ICICI Bank Ltd. and State Bank
of India currently dominate the outbound remittance market. These banks benefit
from strict capital controls, outdated international payment systems, and high
taxes, which limit the influence of fintech competitors.

Wise plans to start signing up new customers in India for overseas remittances after a pause, eyeing a bigger slice of a $32 billion market https://t.co/PTsK7kpn5r

— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) August 12, 2024

India’s $32 Billion Remittances

According to RBI data, Indians sent approximately $32
billion abroad in the year ending March 2024, up from $27 billion the previous
year. These remittances were mainly for travel, education, and family support.

Wise has been facilitating outbound payments from India
since 2020 through a partnership with a bank. Previously, these transactions
were capped at $5,000 each, a restriction that no longer applies. Before
accepting new users under the updated regulations, Wise is upgrading its
systems to meet tax and reporting requirements as stipulated by the Authorized
Dealer 2 license. India imposes a 20% tax on most outbound remittances by
individuals.

The retail digital payments market in India is expected to
grow to $7 trillion by 2030, up from $300 billion in 2018, according to a
Kearney and Amazon Pay study. Digital transactions represented about 46% of all
payments in India in 2022, according to government data.

This significant market potential is why global fintech
firms like Wise and Revolut are prepared to navigate the complex regulatory
environment in India. Revolut received a Prepaid Payment Instruments license
from the RBI in April, as confirmed by the firm.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

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