Xflow, an Indian fintech startup, has obtained investment from Stripe and PayPal Ventures in a $16.6 million funding round. The company aims to establish itself in the cross-border B2B payments sector, traditionally controlled by banks and manual processes.
The Series A round was led by General Catalyst with support from existing investors Square Peg, Stripe, Lightspeed, and Moore Capital, and PayPal Ventures participated as a new investor. The all-equity round values the Bengaluru-based startup at $85 million post-investment and increases its total funding to over $32 million.
Despite rapid digitization in domestic payments, cross-border B2B transfers for Indian exporters still depend heavily on banks, often lacking transparency in fees, settlement timelines, and final rupee amounts. This creates an opportunity for fintech companies like Xflow that offer improved transparency and speed in international money transfers.
Founded in 2021, Xflow provides cross-border payment infrastructure for entities like exporters, SaaS companies, platforms, and freelancers, enabling them to handle international payments, manage foreign exchange, and settle funds in India.
“Cross-border B2B payments were stuck in a different era compared to UPI,” co-founder Anand Balaji said, referencing India’s widely adopted instant payment network, the Unified Payments Interface.
Balaji, who previously contributed to Stripe’s India operations, co-founded Xflow with former Stripe associates Ashwin Bhatnagar and Abhijit Chandrasekaran.
Last year, Xflow facilitated Indian businesses in receiving payments from over 100 countries in more than 25 currencies. It processed nearly $1 billion in cross-border payment volume last year, exhibiting around tenfold growth from the same period in 2024.
The company reports approximately 15,000 clients, including SaaS firms, global capability centers, IT services exporters, freelancers, and fintech platforms.
Transaction sizes vary significantly, with global capability centers averaging $1 million to $2 million per transaction, goods exporters about $30,000 to $40,000, and freelancers around $3,000.
Xflow positions itself as a payments infrastructure provider rather than a direct application, offering APIs that allow platforms and exporters to integrate cross-border financial transactions into their products.
“We didn’t want to build the next Wise — we want to power the next thousand Wises,” Balaji stated.
The startup has launched an AI-based foreign exchange tool to assist finance teams in optimizing currency conversion timing, aiming to enhance gains through informed foreign exchange decisions.
The tool enables businesses to set target conversion rates instead of accepting current bank quotes, similar to limit orders in trading. This model provides a three-day forecast with approximately 92% confidence, according to Balaji, though TechCrunch could not confirm this figure independently.
Xflow faces competition from major banks and fintech companies like Wise, Payoneer, and Skydo. However, Balaji claims the startup’s focus on high-value transactions and API-driven infrastructure sets it apart.
The new capital will be used to develop additional products on the payment infrastructure and obtain regulatory licenses in new markets. Xflow plans to introduce import capabilities soon and seeks licenses in Canada and Singapore while maintaining focus on India as its key market.
Xflow has received preliminary approval from the Reserve Bank of India for a Payment Aggregator–Cross Border license covering both exports and imports and has platform partnerships with Easebuzz and Drip Capital to incorporate its cross-border features.
Support from Stripe and PayPal Ventures, Balaji mentioned, has enhanced the startup’s reputation with banking and regulatory partners, even as it continues collaborating with various payment providers commercially.
The startup currently employs about 65 people as it expands its cross-border infrastructure business.