Key Highlights:
- Xflow raises $16.6 million in a Series A round led by General Catalyst, with backing from Stripe and PayPal Ventures.
- The Bengaluru startup focuses on cross-border B2B payment infrastructure for Indian exporters and global businesses.
- Xflow aims to replace slow, opaque bank-led processes with API-driven, transparent international payments.
- The company processed nearly $1 billion in annualized volume and now serves around 15,000 businesses.
Xflow, an Indian fintech startup, has raised $16.6 million in a Series A funding round as it builds infrastructure to simplify cross-border B2B payments for Indian businesses.
The round was led by General Catalyst. Existing investors Stripe, Square Peg, Lightspeed, and Moore Capital also participated. PayPal Ventures joined the cap table as a new investor.
The all-equity round values the Bengaluru-based company at $85 million post-money. Xflow has now raised over $32 million since its founding in 2021.
Why do cross-border B2B payments still hurt Indian exporters?
India’s domestic payments ecosystem has moved fast. UPI is instant, cheap, and transparent. Cross-border B2B payments are not.
Most Indian exporters still rely on banks to receive international payments. That process often comes with unclear fees, delayed settlements, and limited visibility into how much money finally lands in rupees.
The problem grows with scale. Large exporters moving millions of dollars face cash flow uncertainty. Salaries, vendor payments, and compliance depend on money arriving on time. The friction creates space for fintech infrastructure players like Xflow.
As Xflow co-founder Anand Balaji put it, cross-border B2B payments were “stuck in a different age compared to UPI.”
How does Xflow solve cross-border payments?
Xflow positions itself as payments infrastructure, not a consumer-facing app.
The platform allows businesses to:
- Collect international payments
- Manage foreign exchange
- Settle funds directly in India
- Embed cross-border flows using APIs
Instead of building a single payments product, Xflow offers tools that platforms and exporters can integrate into their own systems.
This approach targets exporters, SaaS companies, global capability centers, freelancers, and fintech platforms that need programmable money movement.
Who founded Xflow and why does it matter?
Xflow was founded in 2021 by Anand Balaji, Ashwin Bhatnagar, and Abhijit Chandrasekaran — all former Stripe executives.
Balaji previously helped build Stripe’s India business. That experience shapes Xflow’s focus on compliance, infrastructure, and scale.
The founding team’s background also explains investor confidence. Stripe’s continued backing adds credibility with banks and regulators, even as Xflow works with multiple payment providers commercially.
How big is Xflow’s business today?
Xflow says it enabled Indian businesses to collect payments from over 100 countries in 25+ currencies last year.
The startup processed nearly $1 billion in annualized cross-border payment volume, marking roughly 10x growth year-on-year.
Its customer base has grown to about 15,000 businesses, spanning:
- SaaS firms
- IT services exporters
- Global capability centers
- Freelancers
- Fintech platforms
Transaction sizes vary by segment. Global capability centers average $1–2 million per transaction. Goods exporters average $30,000–40,000. Freelancers average around $3,000.
How does Xflow use AI in foreign exchange?
Xflow recently introduced an AI-based foreign exchange tool aimed at finance teams. Instead of accepting bank-provided FX rates, businesses can set target conversion rates, similar to limit orders in trading.
The system adds a prediction layer that helps decide when to convert currency. Xflow says the model offers a three-day forecast with about 92% confidence, though this figure has not been independently verified. The goal is not speculation. It is to reduce FX losses in high-value transactions through better timing and data.
Who does Xflow compete with?
Banks still dominate large cross-border B2B transfers. They control licenses, liquidity, and long-standing relationships.
At the lower end of the market, Xflow faces competition from fintech players like Wise, Payoneer, and Skydo.
Xflow’s differentiation lies in its API-led model and focus on high-value, enterprise-grade transactions, rather than retail or SMB-only use cases.
What’s next for Xflow after this funding?
Xflow plans to use the new capital to:
- Build more products on top of its payments infrastructure
- Launch import-side payment capabilities
- Secure licenses in new markets, including Singapore
The startup already holds a payments license in Canada. In India, it has received final authorization from the Reserve Bank of India for a Payment Aggregator–Cross Border (PA-CB) license covering exports and imports.
Xflow has also partnered with platforms like Easebuzz and Drip Capital to embed its infrastructure into their offerings.
Why the Xflow funding matters now?
The Series A funding puts Xflow at the center of a slow but important shift. Indian exporters are demanding faster, clearer, and more programmable cross-border payments.
With backing from Stripe and PayPal Ventures, Xflow is betting that infrastructure—not apps—will define the next phase of cross-border B2B payments in India.
