Skydo, a cross-border payments platform with its headquarters in Bengaluru, has been able to close a massive funding round of $10 million in Series A. Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital led this important capital infusion, still involving current investor Elevation Capital. The capital raise highlights the increased trust of investors in the technological nature of the platform to make the challenging international payment environment of Indian companies easier. Skydo is currently in the process of positioning itself to use this capital to significantly expand its global presence and expand its financial services technology.

Capital infusion

The new capital has been allocated to various strategic projects that are aimed at boosting the growth of Skydo and improving its service delivery in the international markets. One of the main goals is to extend the inward payment collection capacity, and it is planned to extend this service to over 20 countries. This growth will have a direct positive effect on Indian businesses since it will be easier to get funds from international clients.

The company will use the funds to obtain the required regulatory licences in foreign markets, which is a critical move in establishing a global financial infrastructure that is compliant. Moreover, a significant part of the capital is going to be spent on the development of the core technology, namely, the capabilities to build out on card acceptance, deploy advanced compliance automation tools, and create developer APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). This is driven by compliance and infrastructure, which is a reflection of the company’s interest in establishing an inclusive financial operating system of international trade.

Mission and regulatory milestones

The mission of Skydo is focused on addressing the extreme unproductiveness and latent expenses that characteristically mar the cross-border payment cycle of Indian businesses. The company notes that opaque fees and poor foreign exchange mark-up systems by traditional financial systems usually cost Indian exporters between 3 percent and 7 percent of their overall revenue. Additionally, such conventional approaches tend to cause a lot of delays in the receipt and reconciliation of payments, which leads to blockages in working capital and a greater risk of compliance.

Skydo will find a solution to these systemic challenges by facilitating Indian exports through the world-class payment infrastructure designed by India for the international market. The platform offers a solution where customers are able to receive payment in locations in different countries among the clients. These dealings will then be executed in zero forex and with transparent flat-fee rates, which will mean that the money is being settled within a fast 24-hour period. Using transparency, speed, and cost-effectiveness, Skydo is directly confronting the established status quo of traditional banks and international services, including PayPal, Wise, and Payoneer.

Since its launch, Skydo has been exhibiting impressive speed in gaining market share and volume its payment volume. The company now supports a massive clientele of over 30,000 Indian MSMEs, freelancers, and startups distributed within 50 cities in the country, and makes payments in 32 currencies.

One of the strengths of this platform’s growth can be seen in the fact that in the past year alone, it has reached the value of cross-border payment, which is roughly 4 times more than in the previous period. It is based on this momentum that Skydo has established a near-term goal of achieving an annualized payment volume of over $5 billion in the next two years.

Regulatory-wise, the company has already reached a strategic milestone: it has been in-principle authorised to be a payment aggregator -cross-border by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) itself. This compliance transparency is one of the major factors the company is capitalizing on as it tries to build its compliance muscle on the international front.

Conclusion

The successful Series A financing of Skydo not only ensures that the company gets the financial resources needed to expand but also confirms the fact that its mission is to democratize global trade among Indian exporters. The platform removes friction at every stage of the payment process by prioritizing the necessary technological enhancements, such as the ability to offer a complete set of accounts receivable tools, including invoicing, payment reminders, accounting integration, and immediate creation of compliance documents, such as FIRA. Having the fresh capital of $10 million and important regulatory permission by the RBI, Skydo stands poised to aggressively achieve its target of $5 billion annualized volume of payments, which will entrench its position of facilitating a faster, more transparent, and cost-effective future of Indian involvement in the world of global trade.