What is Skydo? The Zero-FX Cross-Border B2B Payment Platform Disrupting Traditional Banking

Skydo Is Building a Simpler Way for Indian Businesses to Receive International Payments

For Indian freelancers, exporters, agencies, and online sellers, receiving international payments can involve more than simply getting paid. Foreign exchange markups, intermediary bank fees, documentation charges, and settlement delays can quietly reduce the value of every invoice. Bengaluru-based Skydo is addressing this problem with a cross-border payments platform designed to make international business payments more transparent and predictable.

Founded in 2022 by Srivatsan Sridhar and Movin Jain, Skydo operates under the Reserve Bank of India’s Payment Aggregator Cross-Border framework and works with banking partners including HDFC Bank, DBS, and Currencycloud. Its platform allows Indian businesses to receive payments from more than 150 countries through global virtual accounts, with funds converted at live mid-market exchange rates and settled into Indian bank accounts. Skydo says it has enabled more than 50,000 businesses and freelancers and processed over $1 billion in payments.

The company’s proposition is built around three promises: zero foreign exchange markup, flat and transparent fees, and automated compliance support. This approach places Skydo in competition with established payment services such as PayPal, Wise, Payoneer, and traditional bank transfers. The difference is that Skydo focuses specifically on the needs of Indian exporters and service providers who want to receive overseas payments while retaining more of their earnings and simplifying financial administration.

How Skydo’s Flat-Fee Model Challenges PayPal and Traditional Banks

Skydo’s pricing model is central to its positioning. Instead of building a margin into the exchange rate, the platform says it uses the live mid-market rate and charges a fixed transaction fee based on the payment amount. Its listed fees are $19 for payments below $2,000, $29 for payments between $2,001 and $10,000, and 0.3% for payments above $10,000. GST is applied to the transaction fee. This structure can make costs easier to estimate, particularly for businesses receiving larger invoices where percentage-based fees and currency markups can become significant.

Skydo’s own comparison pages position traditional bank transfers and PayPal as routes where users may face exchange-rate markups, platform charges, intermediary deductions, or documentation costs. These comparisons are based on Skydo’s published assumptions and should be evaluated against the actual pricing offered by each provider for a specific payment route. The company also provides global virtual accounts in currencies such as USD, GBP, and EUR, allowing overseas clients to pay through local banking channels where supported. This reduces the need for every customer to initiate a conventional international wire transfer.

Skydo says payments can reach an Indian bank account within 24 hours, although actual settlement times may depend on the payment route, compliance checks, banking partners, and other transaction-specific conditions.

Beyond Payments: Skydo’s Focus on Export Compliance and Business Operations

Skydo is also attempting to solve the administrative burden associated with international payments. Indian exporters and service providers need appropriate documentation to support foreign receipts, and obtaining a Foreign Inward Remittance Advice, or FIRA, can become a recurring operational task. Skydo says it provides an instant, free FIRA with every payment, alongside purpose-code handling and payment tracking. Its platform also includes GST-compliant invoicing, payment links, client ledgers, and business analytics, expanding the product beyond a basic payment collection service.

For Amazon Global Sellers, Skydo offers dedicated withdrawal services across supported marketplaces and countries, with separate pricing arrangements for marketplace payouts. The company’s broader ambition is to become a financial operating layer for businesses working across borders. That means helping users receive payments, manage documentation, track transactions, and connect international revenue with their domestic banking systems. Its founders bring experience across financial services, technology, and international business, while the company has attracted support from fintech founders and industry investors.

Skydo still operates in a competitive market where pricing, regulatory compliance, reliability, customer support, and payment coverage matter equally. However, its focus on transparent FX pricing and India-specific export workflows gives it a clearly defined target audience. For businesses that regularly receive overseas payments, the value proposition is straightforward: reduce unnecessary friction and make the amount received after every invoice easier to understand.